Dangerous Waters (Free!)
by zurpocalypse
Summary: The world is empty. The dead are hungry. And futures put on hold. The guys from Iwatobi are on a mission to get back together with the other group while trying to survive against the undead. How much will they lose? What's waiting for them? Who's running out of time?
1. A Typical Raid!

The sky was blanketed with grey, thick clouds, with some exception of sunlight peeking through. The weather was chilly and the atmosphere was heavy in the small, wooded area. Rubble, ashes and planks of wood scattered everywhere among the lifeless lawns and porches. Windows were broken and a majority of the houses were burned to a crisp, except for a few.

"Fluffy Penguin here with Monarch Butterfly. How are things looking? Over." Nagisa said into the walkie talkie. He and Rei were inside a dirty, dark purple van parked outside infront of a 2 story house in a deathly quiet neighborhood. It was one of the few houses that could give them shelter for the night. The roof wasn't caved in like the other houses and the windows were intact.

"Gentle Giant reporting." Makoto's static voice said from the walkie. "1st floor is clear. Over."

"Backyard is good. Just a few dead ones, but they got taken down. Over."

"Rin~! You have to say your code name!" The blond teenager stated.

Rin shouted at the walkie, "Like hell I would! That nickname is too childish for a guy like me!"

"Please?"

"I said no!"

Rei, who sat on the drivers seat, added, "Actually Rin, Nagisa is right. Code names are essential to operations that date all the way back to hundreds of years ago. And this one is no different."

"Listen to Rei, Rin. He's the brains of the operation."

Rin had enough of the arguing and caved in. "UGH! Fine! Shark Boy says backyard is clear! Over!" He said, annoyed. Earlier, he wanted to be nicknamed Sharp Tooth, but Nagisa insisted Shark Boy would suit him more, with his pink puppy dog eyes and pout to convince him.

"Thanks Rin! How about you Haru?"

"Holy Mackeral says 2nd floor is clear. Over."

"O.K guys. You know what to do. I'll check back in 30 minutes. And remember, be careful."

They disconnected their walkie-talkies.

Inside the house, Makoto rummaged through the fridge and cabinets in the kitchen while looking for any edible food and canned goods. With no luck, he called for Haru to assist him. "Haru! Can you come down please?" As soon as he asked, Haru came down into the kitchen. "Can you look in the pantries and cabinets for food?"

"Sure." He squatted down and searched the compartment under the marble countertop.

They were able to find 4 cans of peaches, 2 tomato soup cans, 7 pudding cups, a few bottles of water and a box of cereal that expired the month before. The rest of the food rotted beyond recognition or were being devoured by roaches.

Meanwhile, Rin moved from the backyard and guarded the front with his 12 gauge shotgun ready and loaded by his side. The putrid smell of decay filled his nose and stung his eyes. He tried hard, but found it extremely difficult to pull himself together. He tried slapping his cheeks, closing his eyes and counting to ten, and even holding his breath so he wouldn't need to breath in the stench, but he felt ill anyway. Knowing the huge risk of leaving his position, he hurried inside the house and slammed the door behind him.

Both Makoto and Haru were surprised when they saw Rin come inside in a hasty manor. He laid his gun and hands on the counter and took in a few deep breaths.

"Rin! What are you doing in here?!" Makoto asked. He was able to reply in-between his breaths.

"I cant take it... It smells disgusting outside... and my head feels like it's... spinning." Sweat formed on his forehead and his stomach felt uneasy.

"It doesn't smell that bad outside. I think your just exaggerating it a bi-."

"I'm not over-exaggerating! I feel like I'm gonna throw u-!" He felt the queasiness consume his body. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and groaned a bit. He hurried toward the sink and vomited.

Haru walked to his side and rubbed his back for comfort. He grabbed a blue bandanna from his back pocket that he found in one of the rooms upstairs and handed it to him. "Here. Tie it so that it covers your nose and mouth."

Rin starred at the dark blue bandanna with doubt. The redhead didn't think that the thin fabric would keep out much of the stench. But keeping out some is better than taking in all. He grabbed the blue bandanna and wrapped it around his mouth. He also tied his hair back in a ponytail.

"Where did you find that?" The curious Makoto asked.

"Upstairs."

"Neat. Did you find anything else?" Haru fell silent for a few seconds. He didn't want to tell the guys, especially Makoto, what he stumbled into in the main bedroom. He simply replied, "No... Nothing."

"Are you sure? I wanna check it out to make sure nothing got overlooked," he said. The tall man turned his body to the opposite direction, and headed toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs.

"Don't!" Haru exclaimed as he lunged forward and grabbed Makoto's forearm. He squeezed his forearm tightly.

"Haru?" Makoto called out. He was baffled by his friend's sudden outburst and extreme disapproval with him leaving. He turned his head over his shoulder and starred down at Haru's deep blue, pleading eyes.

"I said there's nothing upstairs. Leave it alone."

Makoto gulped. He replied, "O-O.K. "

**Earlier...**

While Makoto was finding food downstairs, Haru surveyed the upstairs area for any danger. The bedrooms he inspected were in shambles and bedraggled. The toys and Dragon Ball Z posters made him suspect that both rooms belong to young boys. The clothes were scattered all over the floors, the dark blue wallpaper peeled off the walls and the beds were flipped over. It seemed that more than a few people ransacked the place. The only trinkets he could find was a small hammer and the blue bandanna. When he entered the room down the hall, it was different from the other rooms. He turned the silver knob, but it was locked. So he knocked on the door and expected some sort of voice or hungry snarl. He used the hammer to break the knob and opened the door. The wooden floor was deprived of a single speck of dust and the atmosphere was less dense. But a foul stench filled up his nose, making him cringe. Lying on the bed, he saw 3 decaying bodies. At first he wanted to get the hell out of there, but some force kept him from leaving. It seemed that the mother laid with her two very young children, both sons, by her side, holding hands. Beside them were a couple bottles of empty sleeping pills that rested on a wooden desk. He looked back and saw another decaying body, a man, sitting in a rocking chair. His head slumped to his left shoulder and dried blood splatter covered a section of the white wall behind his head. A gruesome sight that would make some, specifically his friend raiding the cabinets, roll their eyes to the back of their head and faint. Haru's attention was caught by a silver revolver in the man's right hand. He came to the conclusion that all had sustained bullet wounds to the head and the apparent shooter was the father. Even so, he walked up to the male corpse, removed his boney fingers from the revolver, and put it in his pocket.

_Are they cowards for leaving the world, or brave? Did horror consume their minds to the point where suicide was the way to go?_ He thought along with other pondering questions. He was able to do a small prayer before closing the door behind him and going downstairs to his friend.

**...**

Haru and Makoto stuffed their backpacks with while Rin starred at himself in the mirror near the kitchen entryway, trying to get used to his new look. They raised their alarm when they a heard a loud thud come from the basement. Rin grabbed his shotgun, Makoto grabbed his baseball bat, with nails hammered at the tip, and Haru grabbed 2 serrated knife from the wooden knife block near the sink. They slowly crept behind the staircase where a door would lead them to the basement. Rin cautiously turned the door knob and opened the door. It was pitch black down past the 4th step. Out from the darkness, two grey-ish green, lacerated arms lunged at them. Rin shot the creature. It let out a ravenous, desperate wail as it fell back onto the floor. They waited a few seconds before agreeing to check the rest of the basement. Makoto pulled out a flashlight from his backpack pocket and used the light to guide them down the stairs. Rin crept down first, followed by Makoto, then Haru. Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Makoto was hit in the head by a light bulb that hung on a few strips of wire. He pulled on the string. The light flickered a bit and lit the room.

Rin and Makoto felt that they were going to vomit not at the smell, but the sight of the creature. Its clothes were still intact, but were shredded and covered in dirt and dried blood. It's face was necrotic and torn, its cheekbones were defined and teeth resembled the color of deep amber. It's short black hair was mangled and messy. Its eyes were bloodshot and a swampy, foggy green color. The creature jerked and twitched violently. Blood squirted out of its stomach, where Rin had shot it. He raised his shotgun and aimed for its head, but Haru intervened.

"I got it," Haru said. He squatted near the creature, pulled back both his arms with both knives in his hands and stabbed deeply into its sickly chartreuse eyes simultaneously. He dug the knives deeper until the creature stopped squirming. Some of its blood splattered onto his pale hands and blue jeans as he removed the knives and threw them aside. "Its dead," he stated.

"What are you talking about? It was already dead," Rin said as he lightly kicked the corpse's arm.

Haru sighed. "Like I keep saying, it died and reanimated. It's only dead if we puncture, crush or do anything else that harms the brain."

"Tsk. Whatever man." Haru turned his head to look back at his friend, who covered his eyes and trembled vigorously. "You O.K Makoto?"

He slowly lowered his hands and observed the body with anxiety. He gulped, "Y-Yeah, don't worry about me... I'm fine." Rin's walkie talkie started to static.

"What happened?! Are you guys O.K?! We heard a gunshot!" Rei asked frantically.

Rin clicked the button and responded, "We're all fine. There was only one, but me and Haru took care of it. Over."

Rei let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Did you manage to check out the entire perimeter? Over."

"Not yet. We'll let you know when we finish. Over." He disconnected his walkie. As Haru tried to comfort Makoto, Rin surveyed the basement for any useful tools or food. "Damn it! There's nothing here!" He shouted as he starred at the empty shelves.

"But at least we got a roof over out heads tonight," Makoto added in hopes it would calm the redhead. "Maybe there's more stuff if we check the rest of the house." Once Makoto calmed down, they left the basement and checked the remainder of the house. While Rin and Makoto checked the garage, Haru pulled the drawer from a small, white desk in the living room and found a red sharpie. He grabbed the desk and hauled it all the way up to the door at the end of the hall, where he found the corpses. He placed the drawer in the front of the door and wrote "**Do Not Enter. Resting In Peace**" on the flat surface on the back with the sharpie.

They met up in the living room and walked out of the house to the front where Nagisa and Rei waited for them. Makoto grabbed the walkie-talkie from his pocket and reported back to Nagisa. "Gentle Giant to Fluffy Penguin. Perimeter is secure and ours for the time being. The zombies have been eliminated. Over."


	2. Too Hard!

Night fell on the region. It seemed that this town was a perfect spot to rest, since there were very few zombies that prowled the area. In the house, the guys sat in a circle in the middle of the living room behind the large sofa. Their only light source was a lantern that illuminated a dim golden yellow color. Nagisa began to open the canned food with the can opener while Rin and Rei looked at the map of the region to mark the places they've been to. Haru and Makoto counted their supplies.

"This is bad guys," Makoto said apprehensively. "We didn't manage to haul in enough supplies. We better hope that the store we saw earlier has what we need."

"Don't worry so much Mako. We always pull through in the end," Nagisa cheerfully said. He removed the top from the last cap and announced that the food was ready for consumption. He then divided the food based on who has the highest metabolism, a system to which everyone agreed on. Makoto gets the most while Haru got the least amount.

While they dined on their food, Rei remarked, "Haru, I feel sorry that you have the least amount of food. You can have some of my peaches if you want."

"It's fine Rei. I only get hungry when I think of mackerel," he stated. Then, his stomach grumbled loud enough for all of them to hear. Haru blushed a bit from embarrassment.

Nagisa chuckled, "If you weren't hungry, then why did your stomach grumble?"

"That's because I was thinking of mackerel!"

The guys laughed at Haru's little outburst.

"Here Haru," Makoto said as he scooped a spoonful of peaches from his can, intending to give it to Haru. But Haru shook his head side to side and covered the top of his can with hand.

Haru also handed his share of the pudding cup to Makoto. "Eat this too," he insisted.

"But your hung-."

"Makoto! You cant forget what happened last time when you were hungry!"

The room fell silent for a moment as they recalled the dreadful event.

The five of them, including some of the Samezuka guys and Goro, their blond, star shaved swimming instructor, were on their food run in a grocery store a couple weeks ago. It had been a couple days since the guys had eaten anything. They were cleaning the shelves of canned goods and supplies when a sudden horde of zombies came into the store from the entrance. The other guys made it our from the side door, but Haru, Makoto and Goro were cut off. They were able to go into the storage room after shooting some of the grotesque creatures heads. They hid behind a rack of candy as the zombies tried to break down the door. Even though the door was metal, they somehow broke through the door. The guys tried desperately to not make a sound as the zombies sniffed the air and tried to find any sign of life to devour. However, Makoto's stomach couldn't keep quiet and grumbled loudly, sending the zombies in a frenzy. Haru was able to find the exit, but couldn't go on when he saw Makoto being grabbed by undead hands. He raised his firearm at the zombies head, but Goro came up from behind and smashed its skull with a hammer. He told the boys to hurry out the door and was ravenously bit in the shoulder. Haru and Makoto didn't want to abandon him, but they knew that if someone were bit, it was too late. Goro managed to give both of them enough time to make their way out from the back exit, but sacrificed himself in the process. The group was in a long grieving state when they heard of Goro's passing. But none was as mournful as Makoto. He believed that he was the cause of his teachers death. It took a vast amount of pep talk and strolling in the to lightly life Makoto's spirits. And even longer to get their friend back to his old, smiling self.

"I'm fine with what I have. You have a higher metabolism so you need to eat more," Haru explained as he slid his pudding cup toward Makoto's leg.

Makoto stopped squabbling with Haru and continued to eat his peaches. After swallowing his food, Makoto asked, "Hey Rin. How come you don't let your sister come along? She seemed so eager to join us this time."

He responded, "There's no way in hell I would let her come with us! It's to dangerous for her." He scooped some peaches with his spoon and scarfed it down. Rin added, with his mouth full, "As much as I hate it, I'd rather have her stay at the camp with Seijuurou and Nitori than stick around with us." He swallowed his food and groaned, "Man, I really wish I has some meat right now. I cant stand how sweet these peaches are."

After swallowing a spoonful of his pudding, Nagisa joined in and said, "I wish I had some cheesecake. I miss the fluffy icing and red strawberry at the top."

"I miss my beautiful pole vault and melon bread with barley tea," Rei added as he looked down at his pudding with gloomy eyes.

Nagisa asked, "Haru, what do you miss?" He sighed when Haru ignored his question. "Makoto. Can you read his mind?" He asked.

"Hmmm. Sure," he replied. Makoto cupped his own pointed chin and stared intensely as Haru ate his peaches. He knew Haru for 14 years, so he was able to tell how his friend felt just by analyzing the way he blinks or how he breathes. As Haru chewed his last bite, Makoto concluded, "Haru misses... He misses mackerel and... the pool? Am I right Haru?"

The blue eyed man swallowed his food and replied, "Pretty much."

"Wow! That's so awesome!" The short blonde stated in awe with big, glimmering fuchsia eyes. "It's like you guys are connected mentally or something."

"That is very impressive Makoto," Rei commented as he straightened his thumb and index finger in the shape of a sideways "L". "How do you guys do it? Communicate mentally and all?"

Haru added, "We've known each other for over 10 years. Its normal for us to communicate even without talking. Makoto thinks its because we came from the same soul, but manifested into different bodies."

"That's amazing! You guys really are best friends," Nagisa commented. "And by the way, what about you Mako? What do you miss?"

Makoto's eyes were drooped more than normal. His elbow was on his knee and his hand was on his cheek. "Huh?" He said. He moved his hand near his mouth and yawned. "Sorry guys. I'm just really sleepy."

"I think that's a sign for all of us to go to sleep," Nagisa stated, before he got the contagious yawn.

"I second that," Rei added. "We haven't had a full nights rest in a very long time. Inadequate sleep patterns can cause the brain to not function properly, which can make us easer prey for those mongrels."

After they finished devouring their food, Haru and Rei managed to find some pillows and blankets in the chaotic rooms upstairs. They agreed to use the bulkier blankets as a mattress and the thinner ones to cover them because they believed their body warmth can sustain them. Makoto punctured some holes on the sides of the leftover cans, used a string from a shoelace he found earlier and hammered them to the entryway that connects the living room to the kitchen, so that if danger were coming, the rattling of the cans would wake them. Rin volunteered to be on night duty. He grabbed his gun, sat down in the middle of the sofa and laid his shotgun on the coffee table. He pulled out Men's Fashion magazine and took a gander at the bracelets and sweaters. The others made themselves comfortable for their slumber.

...

Haru dreamt of that he swam in the crisp, blue waters of the school pool, until he was suddenly awoken when the curtains were drawn, letting in the bright moon light that illuminated the room. He then saw Rin walk from the window and sit down on the sofa. He thought about going back to sleep, but to no avail. He looked to his side and saw Makoto sleeping, who's peachy breath filled his nose pleasantly. He got up carefully, so he wouldn't wake his companions, and walked toward the sofa.

"Couldn't sleep?" Rin inquired as Haru sat down adjoined the redhead.

Haru scooted closer to him, leg to leg, and answered, "I dreamt about the pool, but the light woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep, but I'm not tired anymore."

Rin scratched the back of his own head and giggled. "Sorry. It's just that I heard the moon is at its brightest during the winter. I just wanted to see the sky that's all," he explained. He turned his attention away from the teenager and to the sky. The illuminated sky made him forget for a moment that the world was in complete chaos. He peered his eyes to his right and saw Haru starring at the moon too, with the same look as if he were seeing a pool. For some reason, Rin felt that the glowing reflection of the moon was much more fascinating to watch in Haru's eyes than gazing at the sky itself. It seemed like the moon and stars were floating in the pools of Haru's vivid blue irises. Rin grinned and said as he grasped Haru's left shoulder, "Isn't this romantic Haru?"

Haru was a bit irritated that the redhead disrupted his view. He looked at Rin with annoyance and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know. Just the two of us watching the moon. Together."

He turned his head back toward the window, from feeling slightly embarrassed, and commented sarcastically, "I guess. If your definition of romance is hiding in a strangers home, eating canned food while ravenous zombies prowl the night and hunt for human flesh, then yeah, this is romantic."

Rin sighed, "Don't be like that. You know I-." He was interrupted by his own yawn. He stretched his arms up and rubbed his eyes with his balled up hands.

"Rin, you seem tired. You can go to sleep if you want."

"Really?"

"Like I said, I'm not tired anymore. I can take your shift."

"Alrighty then. I guess I'll hit the ha-." As run turned his head back, he saw that the spot that Haru slept on was taken by Nagisa's upper body. He turned to his sides and studied the room for a comfortable place to sleep. When he couldn't find an area that met his standards, his eyes and he thought of an idea. He scooted a bit farther from Haru and fell to his left side, but was his head and shoulder was caught by Haru.

"What are you doing?"

"Nagisa took my spot, so I'm gonna use your thighs as a pillow to sleep on."

"No."

"C'mon Haru. You know I can't sleep without a pillow. Please?"

"No."

Everyone of his verbal plea's were coldly turned down by Haru. He then came up with another idea. "Haru, you brought this upon yourself," he stated. Since they were children, he knew that Haru hated eye-to-eye contact, especially with him, and used that to his advantage. He sat back up, clasped Haru's pale cheeks with his hands and locked eyes with the confused man.

The beautiful gleam in Rin's narrow, crimson eyes made it difficult for Haru to withstand the redheads gaze. He darted his eyes in other directions, but his eyes would always end up staring into his irises. He caved in quickly, not being able to withstand his anxiety with eye contact. "F-Fine. Do what you want."

Rin grinned victoriously and released his friend from his grasp. Just as he was about to rest his head, he clasped his hand onto Haru's thigh and squeezed it repeatedly. He stated, "Hard. But it'll do for the time being." He removed his hand from Haru's thigh and rested the side of his head on his lap. His eyelids grew heavy and his breathing slowed down. He didn't realize how exhausted he was until he laid his head down. Within a few moments, he was at ease and asleep.

...

While the others slept soundly, Haru continued to gaze at the night sky. He felt that if he were to drown his mind with the midnight blue sky, it would remind him of the feeling of swimming. Though, it wasn't the same. He was just suffocating at the thought that he might never be able to swim again. It took Rin's sleep talk to bring him back from Cloud 9.

Rin's eyebrows pulled down together and his shoulders tensed up. He muttered, "Don't.. Get away.. Away from Gou...Don't.. Touch her..."

Haru ran his fingers through Rin's straight, silky burgundy hair, which seemed to calm his nerves as his expression and shoulders relaxed. He removed the black hair tie from his previous ponytail and used it to make funnier hairstyles on his friend, who is slept calmly. A pastime that could hopefully kill some time while he served the graveyard shift.


	3. Magazines!

After the guys got their full nights rest, except for the blue eyed man, they packed up their gear and drove off. They ate the expired cereal as they traveled to the supermarket across town. Car rides to their destinations often start with a game of Would You Rather, I spy, or even 20 Questions. As the boys were close to guessing if Makoto was some type of candy or dessert, they arrived to their destination.

Rei turned the car around and backed the van precisely in front of the store in the empty parking lot, so they could manage to transport the goods easily and efficiently. Haruka and Makoto got out first. They cupped their hands around their eyes as though they were binoculars, pressed the side of their hands against the dusty window and surveyed the store for any signs that there might be traces of the living dead. Once the coast was clear, they beckoned their friends over. Rin knocked on the glass door and waited, with his shotgun pointed at the door. When nothing happened, he pulled the glass door open and entered the store. Inside, they saw that the store was relatively tidy, with the exception of a few bags of chips on the floor, some shotgun shells and large puddles of dried blood. From the looks of the blankets laid out and small stock pile by the coolers, it seemed that a group claimed the store as their camp. On the other hand, the large amount of blood on the floor meant that it's most likely vacant.

Makoto's attention was caught by a slightly open white door that he thought was the storage room. He pulled on Haruka's black sleeve and asked, "I think that's the storage room over there. Wanna check it out with me?"

"Sure," he replied in his usual, monotone voice. Haruka opened the door of the storage room, flicked the light switch up, and entered first as Makoto waited outside. After a few moments of stealthy maneuvering, he called Makoto in when things were clear. Inside the storage room were loads of candy, large cans of food, bulks of bottled water and even some guns. Makoto's face was plastered with a big smile and Haruka was wide eyed by the amount of supplies in the room. They thought the supplies could last their group a good couple weeks without needing to travel for a while.

Rei scanned the gum packs near the window until he was startled by two zombies that slammed their faces against the window in front of him. As Rei let out a feminine scream, he receded and tripped over a can of corn. He fell back onto a rack of chips, to which the chip bags fell onto him.

Nagisa couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. He held onto his stomach and rolled on the floor while he chuckled, "Oh my god Rei! What kind of scream was that?!"

"This is not funny Nagisa! There are zombies outside!" He exclaimed as he removed the chips off his body.

Nagisa managed to get back up and wiped a tear from the side of his eye. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it.," he smiled as he grabbed an icepick from the shelf. The blond walked out the door, without catching the attention of the zombies, and stabbed them one by one in the head with the icepick.

"What happened?! Is everyone alright?!" Makoto asked frantically as he rushed out of the storage room.

"Don't fret Makoto. Everyone is alri-." As Rei got up, he felt some suspicious, chalky substance on his hands. He looked at his hands and his jaw dropped. "M-M-My hands. T-There's b-blood on them. T-T-T-his is not b-beautiful at all," he stuttered as he starred at his bloody hands.

Makoto sensed Rei's distress. He walked over, handed him a clean tissue, received a "thank you" and walked back in the storage room. Once Rei scrubbed off the blood, he adjusted his red spectacles and got back up.

Rin was in awe at Nagisa's zombie killing capability for a moment, but he continued on with his business. He scanned through the candy and magazine isle when he spotted some magazines that he thought he and his friends would be interested in. A grin strapped onto his face as he stuffed them into his backpack. He also grabbed some chocolate Kit-Kat's® and a few boxes of strawberry Pocky® for his sister before he was called outside by Rei.

Rin, Nagisa and Rei stood in front of an escape ladder on the side of the concrete building. "Since you both have the sharpest eyesight and shooting skills, you two should go up on the roof and stake out up there in case any other zombies come," he instructed. "Haruka, Makoto and I will continue to stock up. If anything happens, whistle." He glanced at Nagisa and stated, "And please don't play around. Especially you Nagisa."

Nagisa saluted and said, "Okie dokie artichokie." When Rei began to walk back to the store, he leaned close to the redheads ear and whispered, "Hey Rin! I bet I can shoot the most zombies!"

Rei's keen hearing picked up on Nagisa's voice. He came back and ranted, "What did I just say Nagisa?! Do not play around! This is serious!"

"Please don't play around. Especially you Nagisa," he restated in his imitation voice for Rei that was spot on. "I know what you said. But this is a contest. And it involves taking down zombies." He explained. "And its obvious I'm gonna take down more anyway."

Before Rei could say anything else, Rin boasted, "Pft. As if! I have the highest record for most zombies taken down. I'm 200% sure I'll take down more zombies than you."

Nagisa smirked as he climbed up the escape ladder, "Well we'll see about that now won't we!"

Rin balled a fist in the air and shouted, "I won't lose to you Happy Feet!" He traded his shotgun for the long range rifle and a silencer that Rei carried. He rested the strap on his right shoulder and climbed up the escape ladder.

Rei sighed and came back inside the store, feeling defeated.

As Rin and Nagisa patrolled the roof top, the three filled their camping backpacks with a few cords of sturdy rope, batteries, some goodies for them, random array's of canned and packaged food and other assortments. The larger, bulkier items were placed in the trunk, like large canned produce, guns and shells. Rei checked things off from the list as the supplies were being loaded.

While Makoto was loading the boxes in the trunk, he saw Haruka with pink tint's on his cheeks and sweat forming. Haru placed the large box on the bench so he could catch his breath. He sat on the bench and leaned his head back to rest. Once Makoto placed the box in the van, he walked toward his breathless friend. He handed Haruka a water bottle, picked up the box and intended to go to the van, but was interrupted.

"I was just taking a short break," Haruka defended. "I'll load it later."

Makoto gave one of his signature, soft smiles. "Don't worry about me. I like manual labor." He then proceeded toward the van, "You look like you need your re-."

They heard a shot.

Rin attached the silencer to the nozzle of the gun and aimed it the zombies obscure cranium. Through the scope, he observed the zombies horrendous facial features. It's jaw hung from only a few strands of tissue and its skull cracked, revealing its grey, revolting brain. The mere sight of the creature made him cringe. It took a single shot to take out the creature. Its shattered brain matter and skull fragments scattered all across the street as it's lifeless body collapsed onto the pavement.

"Hah! That's my second one!" Rin boasted as he turned to face Nagisa, who was on the other side of the roof.

Nagisa fired a round. He shifted the sniper slightly to the right and fired another shot. He looked back at Rin and grinned, "That's still two less that how many I've taken down."

He looked through his scope and saw a few more coming toward the store. He thought this would be the perfect chance for him to catch up to the exuberant blonde. But his ebullience quickly turned to trepidation. He hastily called Nagisa over to his side to help him debunk the situation. They shot a few craniums before coming to the conclusion that there were far to many for them to deal with.

Rin pressed thumb and index finger, put the finger tips in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Haruka, who was still outside, heard the whistle. He rushed back inside and warned the other two. They hastily carried what they had in hand to the trunk and slammed it shut. Rin and Nagisa slid down the railings of the ladder and rushed to the car. Rei dashed to the driver seat, after everyone hustled to their seat,and grabbed the key from the glasses compartment. He inserted the key and started the ignition. Once the doors were closed, he droved toward the street they came from, but stopped when he saw the horde up ahead.

Rin shouted as he clutched the head rest, "What the hell Rei? Drive the fucking car!"

"I can't! There's too many blocking the road!" He shouted back.

"Then run them over!"

"I cant! They'll damage the van!"

The guys looked at the oncoming horde with shaken hands and their hearts pounding. The undead groans could be hear louder and louder as they approached the van. The guys were almost about ready to hop out and take them all at once. Then, Nagisa thought of a risky idea.

The fuchsia eyed blonde rolled the side window, sat on the window frame, and leaned his upper body outward a few inches. "Mako! Hold onto my legs so I don't fall off!" After Makoto pinned Nagisa's ankles against the door, he shot multiple rounds at the horde. Then, a small pathway began to form.

Rin also rolled down the window. "Good idea! I'll go on the other side!" He sat on the window frame and fired at the horde. "Haru! Hold onto me!" After Haruka pinned his ankles, Rin shot at the horde aswell.

One by one, the creatures dropped onto the floor, creating a body filled pathway. Once enough were taken down, Rei stepped on the pedal and drove the van through the aisle of corpses. The sound of crushed bones mixed with gunfire and groans filled the air. The remaining zombies would try to catch up to the van, but ended up tripping over the dead bodies. It seemed as though they would go home with out a problem as they reached the edge of the undead crowd, their joy later turned into fear.

As Rin fired rounds from his machine gun, it suddenly ran out of bullets. He threw the gun away from the van and asked Haruka for a new one. However, as Haruka reached out to grab one from the floor, he lost his grip on his friend. Rin fell out of the van and plummeted onto the gravel.

"Rin!" Haruka cried out.

Rei stopped the van. The guys watched with dread as Rin was surrounded by dead bodies and will soon be approached by the living dead. The stench made the redhead gag a bit, but he quickly lifted the bandanna above his nose. Once he felt able to, he tried to get back onto his feet, but he felt a sharp pain in his arms and right calf. He didn't have the time to be able to check his injury, but he felt warm streams of blood run down his leg. As he watched the zombies come closer and closer, he quickly laid back down, grabbed a corpse that had been shot, and hurled it on top of his body. He intended that the corpse would cover his smell and act as camouflage.

As the zombie drew a mere few feet close to Rin, they smelled the air. They seemed confused, almost adrift even.

Haruka used this chance to get his friend back. He hastily grabbed a pistol and slid the car door open. "Nagisa! Cover me!" He shouted as he dashed out the car.

As Nagisa shot the zombies up ahead, Haruka hurried toward his friend. Suddenly, something latched onto Haruka's ankle, which caused him to trip. Thankfully, his arms broke his fall, but they were scrapped pretty badly. When he turned back to see what caught him, it was a zombie. The creature hadn't been shot in the skull, but its side of it's head was grazed. It's mouth was open and ready to bite, which revealed its grey tongue and golden yellow teeth. Haru kicked the zombie in the face repeatedly, but it seemed to have little effect. He then pressed the mouth of the pistol onto the zombies head and shot it. Its brain matter and dark red blood dripped onto his pale ankle. He quickly got back up and traversed the dead bodies.

When he arrived, he grabbed the corpse, and hurled it away from the redhead. With some difficulty, he managed to get Rin up onto his feet. He rested Rin's right arm over and across his shoulder and placed his arm to his waist, which supported the injured man. They then hustled back to the van. A few zombies came up to the side of them, but the blue eyed rescue man managed to take them down before they could cause any harm. Makoto hopped over the seat and to the back. He opened the doors and shouted at the men to hurry. Both Rin and Haruka stumbled in and sat on the boxed of preserved food in the trunk.

Once both Rin and Haruka were secured in the car and the doors were shut, Rei stepped on the pedal and sped the car away from the horde. The guys watched as the horde grew farther and farther away from them.

Makoto pulled out the first aid kit under the seat and pulled up Rin's pant leg. A large gash was revealed on his pale leg. He sprayed some anti infection spray, which made Rin jolt with the stinging pain, and placed a large, square bandage on the scar. He then used the linen to wrap the injury to secure it. Makoto repeated the steps with his bloodied arms. He then moved over to doctor Haruka and the scratches on his arms.

As Makoto applied first aid on Haruka, Nagisa pushed himself back in the van. He looked back and said, "Oi, Rin. Guess what?"

"W...What... What is it?" He responded in between breaths.

Nagisa snickered, "I shot down the most zombies."

...

After they convenient store ordeal, they scoured the neighborhood for a suitable house for the night. It was extremely difficult to find a house that wasn't dilapidated, but they found a house just as the sun settled.

The windows were shattered, which would cause a problem since it would let in the frigid winter air. Once again, they settled in the living room. After they set up the "beds", Haruka took the night shift. Again.

Everyone slept on the floor while Haru starred at the painting of the bouquet of flowers above the fireplace. He tiled his head against the sofa frame and rubbed his eyes occasionally, a sign that the sand man tried to put him under a deep sleep. Suddenly, he heard some small rustling behind him, but paid little attention to it. He then heard a someone whisper behind his ear, "Hey Haru. Wanna see my junk?"

Haruka's eyes widened and his face flustered. "Huh?!" He exclaimed as he turned his head. It was the messy haired Rin. A green blanket was wrapped around his body.

The redhead placed his index finder on his lips and told him to hush. He whispered again, "Do you wanna see my junk?"

"What?" He whispered loudly. Still confused as to why Rin want's to show him his "junk".

Rin dug through his backpack that rested behind the sofa and pulled out some magazines. "Do you want to see my magazines?"

"Oh," he sighed. "Sure."

Rin went around and sat next to his friend on the sofa. He laid out the thin booklets on the coffee table and a few on their thighs. "Some of these I got for you guys ," he said. He picked up a dessert cookbook. "This one can be Nagisa's. It even has a page dedicated to strawberry short cakes. That's his favorite." He set the magazine down and picked up two others. "This one can be for Rei 'cuz it contains a lot of astronomy and space stuff. And the other can be for Makoto because he's into cute stuff and cats."

"Did you get me anything?" He asked as he starred at him with his glimmering blue eyes.

Rin grinned. "I did, but you have to close your eyes. It' a surprise," he insisted. Once Haru closed his eyes, he dug through his backpack again and pulled out a magazine, still in its plastic wrap. He turned over Haruka's pale hands and placed it on the palm of his mans. "O.K. You can open it."

Haruka opened his eyes. He cut the top and slid the magazine out of the plastic. His body and mind was filled with felicity. His hands shook and the sides of his lips curled up. He marveled at the magazine, "F-Famous Japanese M-M-Mineral Springs and Me Monthly! But this is s-super rare! Where did you find it?!"

"I got it back at the convenient store we went to earlier today. Do you like it?" He snickered. He already knew what the answer was going to be, but he asked just to make sure.

"Are you kidding me?! This is in mint condition! And it came with the DVD! I love it!" He looked like an excited 5 year old who visited Disney Land for the first time. Rin was a bit surprised by the volume of his voice, it was still soft, but unusually loud for his friend. But he felt elated at the fact the Haru admired his gift. "Thank you so much Rin! I'll treasure this forever!" He exclaimed as he pressed the magazine close to his chest.

"No problem. Think of it as another of the many gifts that I gave for saving my life," he stated.

Haruka's enthusiasm died. He looked into Rin's crimson red eyes with a concerned look and held onto his warm hands. "Rin. You don't need to reward me just because I saved you. I would risk my life for you at any moment of any day of any second. I don't expect a reward from you every time I rescue you. You being alive and well is enough of a reward for me," he commented solemnly.

Rin's face flustered redder than his hair. He tried to come up with something more suave, but all he could rely was, "I-I-I get it. I w-w-would do the s-same too."

Haruka gave Rin a small, soft smile. A rare sight nowadays since they world turned into a place where smiles can literally be ripped apart. He released Rin's hands from his grip and asked, "Anyway, what did you get?"

"M-Me? Nothing. I just got them as presents that's all. I even got some stuff for my sister. I'll give her them tomorrow when I see her," he explained as he tried to cool himself down by fanning his face with a Men's Fashion magazine.

"Oh. Well thanks aga-." He was interrupted by his own yawn. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but he kept getting frosty chills that ran down his spine. Seeing his friend shiver, Rin wrapped his arm around Haruka's shoulder and drew him closer to him, which wrapped the blanket around his body too. Haru's cold feeling quelled. He nuzzled his face onto the blanket and murmured, "Thank you, Rin." He felt the heat radiating from Rin's body. "Good night."

"G-Good night, H-Haru," he replied, still flustered. He picked up a Men's Fashion magazine and read as Haru dozed off.

From that point on, the night had been an exceptionally silent one.


	4. It's A Disaster!

Instead of looking for a house to sleep like they normally did, they spent the night in the van. After too many close calls, the solemn teenagers were wiped out. Haru kept a watchful on the still unconscious redhead as everyone else slept on the backseat. However, he ended off dozing off.

"Haru! Wake up!" Nagisa cried out as he shook the sleeping teenager from his shoulder.

He rubbed his eyes. "W-What's the matter Nagisa?"

"I-I-It's R-Rin! H-H-H-He's..."

"Rin's what?! What's wrong with R-!"

"Rin's gone!"

"What?!" The wide eyed man shouted. "Where did he go?!"

Rei pulled the blond back and explained as Nagisa was unable to fumble words out of his mouth. "We don't know. But Rin must have snuck out while we slept to look for his sister."

Haru gasped. "Don't tell me he's-"

The guys followed a bloody trail and path of dead zombies, which led them back to the school. Zombies lay battered and cut as they drove toward the entrance. Their arms flailed in the air and legs twitched, desperately trying to get up. Rei parked the van on the sidewalk and passed the guns to the others. The guys stormed out of the van with their weapons in hand and mindsets set on finding Rin alive and well.

It was difficult to tell who was more worried about Rin. None of them wanted Rin to be found in the worst condition imaginable.

Makoto flung the glass door open and held it for the others to speed into the building. Nagisa pointed his gun at the heads of three zombies and shot them down. Haru then led the group around the corner and up the stairs.

For some reason, something inside him knew exactly where to find their missing friend. Maybe he had been around Rin for so long that he had an internal Rin GPS?

As they reached the steps, Haru shot a zombie between the eyes with his revolver. Its body collapsed as they raced to the end of the hallway. They reached the a door at the end of the hall with more dead zombies on the floor around it.

_Room 210_

The door was slightly open and the silver door knob was smeared with blood. All of them were a bit hesitant to open the door, but Haru slowly flattened his hand on the door and cautiously pushed it open.

In the middle of the room stood the redhead. A large, blood encrusted hammer in his hand. Two zombies laid beside his feet. Their skulls smashed in and their faces so mangled that is almost resembled a bitten piece of rotten food. His dark blue jeans splattered in blood as well as his hands and arms. He turned his body around slowly with a neutral expression, but his face splashed with deep red blood. The red liquid dripped from the tips of his bangs.

The sight worried the guys for Rin's mental stability. For him to have gone out at night alone and take down all those zombies with just a hammer was incredibly risky and life threatening.

"Rin?!" Makoto exclaimed. "We were worried sick about you!" While he exclaimed, Rin walked toward them.

They took a small step back as, thinking that Rin was still in a belligerent mood. Instead, Rin handed Haru a bloodied folded note in his hand. "Here. Read this," he said as he waved the paper near his face.

Haru grabbed the note and read it out loud as the others peered behind him. In shaken black sharpie, it read,

**_Rin. _**

**_Got over-run. Made it out safe. Meet at Army Base. Sanctuary._**

**_Gou and Others._**

It felt as though a huge weight of grief had been lifted. They were elated to find out that Gou and the others had made it out of the zombie filled academy safely.

"This is fantastic!" Makoto cheered. "When we get to the Base, we'll be able to see her and the others! This is great news Rin!"

Rin trembling lips formed into a smile. "Gou... She's safe..." He lunged forward slightly as Makoto pat his back. Rin curled his upper body toward his stomach and started to cry. "Thank god... My sister is safe..." He then felt the warm embrace of his friends wrap around his body. However, once they stood back up, Haru raised his right hand and slapped Rin hard across his bloodied cheek.

"Haru?!" Nagisa and Rei exclaimed with their jaws dropped.

"Haru?! What was that for?!" Makoto asked as he put his hands on Haru's shoulders.

Rin was also shocked by Haru's gesture. Yet, he understood why. He was able to translate the reason why Haru had slapped him. He said as he rubbed his pink cheek, "Got it Haru. I won't do it again." He gave the guys a reassuring smile and added, "Don't worry. Haru just gave me a piece of his mind."

"Jeez guys." Makoto sighed. "Now that we found you, we should get going to the Army Base. Gou must be worried sick."

As they left the room, Rin smelled something foul. He looked down at his shirt and gagged. "Can I shower first? I won't take long."

Something clicked inside the blue eyes mans head. **Shower = Water**. Haru hasn't been around any water that he could submerge himself in for an agonizingly long time. He wasn't about to let this opportunity to slip through his fingers. "I think we should all take shower's. Who knows? It'll probably be a little while before we'll be able to indulge in the simple luxuries again."

* * *

Yes another Chapter!

This one is pretty short because I wanted to get straight to the point. And now that that's done, I can now add more intense stuff! XD


	5. Candy For One!

_Author's note: I know little to almost nothing about cars. If I get some things messed up, sorry_.

"My stomach is doin' the rumbling," Nagisa groaned as he clenched his grumbling stomach. His forehead rested on the back of the driver's headrest.

"We know you're hungry, Nagisa. Everyone is, but complaining won't do anyone good," Makoto explained. He pat his own lap and said, "Why don't you sleep it off?"

"But I'm not sleepy! I took a nap like 3 times already! Plus it won't do any good since I'll wake up even more hungry!"

Rei sighed and commented, "It's such a shame that all our supplies were lost to the dead. We were lucky enough to retrieve some of our weapons, but it cost us all of our rations."

The guys have driven non stop for over 10 hours, with only a short pit-stop to fill up for gas. Everyone in the car sighed from disappointment, all except Haru, who stared out at the scenery from the passenger window. Orange was the main color pallet of the area. Trees with deep red-orange colored leaves lined up the forest. Light grey clouds covered the sky and a gust of wind sent oodles of leaves flying onto the road. Makoto looked to his side and formed a soft smile as he stared at Haru's relaxed state.

"We're on a tight schedule guys. We have to find Gou and the others before anything bad happens to them," Rin explained as he drove their newly found, silver truck. The redhead couldn't stop worrying about the safety of his sister. he had to remember that she was in goods hands. But then he would realize that a certain tanned redhead was with her and he would end up worried all over again... He managed to drive a couple more feet before the truck began to experience some problems. Steam came out from the hood of the car. "Don't tell me..." He looked at the gas dial. The red arrow was directly on** E**. "Fuck! We're out of gas!"

The truck made a complete stop in the middle of the rural highway. Rin and Rei exited the car and popped open the hood. A cloud of steam rolled in onto their faces, which fogged Rei's red rimmed glasses. Once the smog cleared, he pulled out a cloth from his pocket and cleaned his spectacles as Rin examined the car. The redhead rummaged inside the engine and found the complication. The radiator over heated. The valve wasn't screwed on properly, so the water seeped out, thus making the radiator unable to cool itself, even with in the cold weather.

"Goddamn it," he muttered.

"This is a problem. We'll have to find some water soon before it get's dark."

The frustrated redhead kicked the front tire and shouted, "That's fucking great! We're stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere with a crappy-ass truck!"

"Rin, please calm down." Rei's words didn't process in Rin's head. Instead, he stomped toward a tree and repeatedly his his forehead against it. Rei turned back to the truck and called out, "Hey guys! Can you come out please?!"

Before he knew it, Makoto, Nagisa and Haru rushed to his side. "What's the problem?" Makoto asked.

"I don't want to come off as rude, but does Rin get cranky when he's hun-."

"Yes," they all repeated.

"Oh. Well, while he's blowing off steam, we should think of a plan to get out of this pickle. Luckily for us, I already have one!" He explained that if Nagisa steered the truck while he, Haru, Makoto and Rin pushed the truck, they would be able to a nearby gas station, since they haven't seen one for the past couple miles. But it would be risky, since it was all a hunch. "Does this sound good to you all?"

They nodded in agreement.

Before they returned to the truck, Makoto cupped his ears outward and listened for any suspicious groans. All he heard was the crisp air rustling through the dark orange tree leaves. "Haru, do you hear anything?" He asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the trees." The blue eyed man then walked toward the frustrated redhead. He rested his hand on Rin's shoulder and spoke some inaudible words to him. Rin seemed to have calmed down and stopped slamming his head on the bark. Haru wiped his dirty, pale forehead and walked back to the truck with his friend.

The four of them pushed the truck with all their might as Nagisa steered, making sure that the truck didn't swerve off onto a ditch.

About a half a mile later, they made it to a gas station off the interstate without a run in with the walking dead. Nagisa steered the man powered truck an additional couple of feet until they approached the gas pump. The men slid down the van and fell onto the floor. Their faces covered in sweat and their calves ached as well as their arms.

Nagisa rolled down the window and watched the inside of the store through it's windows for any movement. It was a little hard for him to see clearly since the windows were smudged with dirt and other dried substances. When the coast was clear, he eagerly hopped out the car from the window and dashed to the store without being detected by the other's.

Rei dug through his left pocket and pulled out his wallet. He looked inside it, looked up at the gas prices and pulled out his money. "Huh... Seems that I don't have enough money for gas," he acknowledged. He then turned to Makoto and asked him for some money, to which he didn't have any on him.

"What the hell Rei? Why are you asking for money?"

"Well, Rin, I only have 152 ¥ with me, so I don't have enough for gas. Do you have some money on you?"

The redhead slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead. "Ohmigod," Rin muttered under his breath as he dragged his hand down his face. "One. No, I don't have any cash on me. And two. There's a cash register at the store over there. There's no more police to stop you from taking money from there anyway."

"Your right! How silly of me," he said as he placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself up onto his feet. He grabbed his backpack from the trunk and took a few steps before he felt a tug on his jeans. Rei looked down over his shoulder and met a pair of droopy, green eyes.

"Hey, Rei. Can you find some snacks for us please? And some water too."

"Sure thing, Makoto." He then glanced over towards Haru, who was catching his breath. "Do you want anything, Haru?"

Haru looked up at him with a serious expression and said, "Bring as much water as you can."

Rei nodded and proceeded to walk to the store. When the doors automatically slid open, the store was surprisingly clean inside. The items were still on their shelves, the floor looks as though it had been swept and there wasn't any blood on the floor this time. The exceptions were the dirty windows and dusty counters. He strolled down the candy aisle and . He peered inside the once frosty window and scanned each row for bottled water. It wouldn't have felt eerie to him if he didn't feel as though someone were watching him. He thought he had seen something on the corner of his eye, but he brushed it off. His eyes met the water at the very bottom of the row. He opened the door and bent down to get them, until he felt a sharp pinch on his sides.

"Hey Rei!"

Rei let out a short, feminine scream when he heard Nagisa's voice. He almost lost his balance, but he caught himself from doing so when he rested his forearm on the door. Once he found out who the identity of his assailant was, Rei scolded him, but to no avail. The blond simply laughed.

"Ohmigod Rei! You scream like a girl!" Nagisa laughed as he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes.

His pale face flushed red. "Don't laugh! You could have given me a heart attack!"

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself. You were in a vulnerable state, so I had to pounce. If anything it was your fault for keeping your guard down."

Rei took offence to that statement. He pressed his hands to his chest and exclaimed, "My fault?! That's not how it works! If anything, it the exact opposite of my fa-!"

"That's the thing, Rei. "**It**" doesn't exist anymore. There's no more rules. I, we, can do whatever I want!" Before Rei could make another comment, Nagisa merrily skipped over a few aisles and stopped on the snack section. He opened a bag of potato chips and scarfed them down. With his mouth full, he commented, "Loothie! I donth even hafth to pay for theth!" (Lookie! I don't even have to pay for these!)

The magenta eyed boy had a point. There were no rules anymore. No police to enforce the law. No store owner to kick them out of the store. No one except for them. Rei admired Nagisa's innocent, care-free demeanor. It seemed like nothing could penetrate his happy go lucky attitude, not even the flesh eating undead.

Rei placed the water bottles in his backpack, along with some canned goods and expired chips. He hurried toward the cash register and opened it with the press of a few buttons. He reached down for the soft colored paper, but something inside him restrained his hand from grabbing the money. His hand just froze a few inches above the money.

The blond peered down at the register beside the frozen man as he munched on his chips. "What's the matter, Rei?"

Rei's body jolted when Nagisa asked the question. "W-Well... Um...," he stuttered. He didn't want to tell Nagisa the reason he was frozen was because he was too much of a goody-too-shoes. He felt, based on his observations, that the blond would only make fun of him. However, that didn't stop him from replying. "The good samaritan that is still is sending electrical impulses to my brain that is restraining my hand from taking the money."

His prediction was right. The blond gave him a disappointed look and muttered, "Wow. What a loser." He then grabbed the money and shoved the bills in his pocket.

When Rei glanced to see what the other's were doing, he was shocked at what he saw. His friends were gone. Vanished.

He focused out more and found them hiding underneath the truck. Makoto laid in-between Rin and Haru, with their arms wrapped around him, and his hands were over his trembling head. Haru pointed his pistol toward one of the back tires while Rin vigorously waved his hand up and down at them, a sigh that Rei took in as code for him and Nagisa to hide.

"Get down," Rei whispered loudly as he pushed Nagisa's head below the rim of the counter. He kept his hand on his blond hair and peered slightly over the counter

An unusual coal black Hummer pulled in the station beside one of the gas pumps. Barbed wire with strips of clothing were wrapped on the top of the rims of the car and bloodied baseball bats hung on nails on the car doors. The driver and passenger doors opened and out came two figures. Both of their identities remained a mystery as their faces were hidden by helmets and bodies were covered by S.W.A.T armor. Each of them carried semi-automatic riffles and handguns on their hips.

A vast amount of questions filled inside of Rei's head. From _Who are they?_ to _Are they a threat?_ It was hard for him to concentrate when Nagisa chewed loudly beside him. "Can you stop eating?!" He growled.

Nagisa apologized and threw the half empty bag across the floor.

The two unidentified people seemed amused at the sight of the truck, which they approached with little caution. They peered inside through the window and examined the trunk. Haru pulled the trembling Makoto closer to him and steadied the gun aimed right for one of the stranger's ankles. Rin gave Rei a _**Do something**_ look. Rei hastily pulled out a can of tuna from his backpack and threw it at the window, which bounced loudly onto the floor. The gunmen turned their bodies sharply around and pointed their rifles at the door.

Their hearts pounded hard against their chest as the strangers entered the store. They flattened their backs against the counter and pulled their legs close to their chest. Nagisa gave a confused look to his friend as he thought of a plan to escape. Rei pointed Nagisa to crawl over to the back door down the back aisle, where they would hide out until they left. Nagisa nodded in agreement and crawled toward the back in-between the cold drinks and rows of snacks. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks before he could get past the first aisle. Rei scooted down at the edge of the counter, looked to his side and saw one of the gunmen creeping toward Nagisa's direction. Without hesitation, Rei shot his body up above the counter with his arms high above his head. Sweat rolled down the side of his cheeks when they pointed their rifles at his head.

The man near the door shouted in a deep, low voice, "Who the hell are you?!"

"I-I'm j-j-just a lone t-traveler!" He shouted. Rei had said he was alone because he didn't want to endanger his friends. "I stopped h-here to fill up on g-gas."

"Sorry, bud. But this is our station. You're gunna have to high-tail it outta here."

"C-Certainly. I'm sorry f-for intruding. I'll leave right n-."

_*Crash*_

They pointed their guns right at the wide-eyes boy. Nagisa had accidentally knocked down a rack of chips with his leg when he turned the corner. One of the men grabbed Nagisa by his hair and dragged him across the floor onto an ice cream cooler.

"Where do you think your going?!" He exclaimed as he stomped on the blond with his right foot. Nagisa covered his head with his arms as a desperate attempt to avoid injury.

"Don't hurt him!" Rei shouted.

"Who is this?! Is he with you?!"

Rei didn't answer.

"Do you think I'm stupid?!"

He gulped and continued, "What?! N-No sir! Not at al-!"

"Bullshit!" He shouted as he aimed the rifle to his head. Rei shut his eyes as it seemed that the gunman was going to open fire on him. But nothing happened. He opened one eye and saw the two men talking.

"Calm down, Kai," the other man said. He stopped kicking Nagisa and continued, "Remember what the boss said. Save your bullets. We got bigger problems that this scrawny punk."

As the men bickered, Rei slammed his hand on the counter and jumped over it. Once he landed on the other side, he hurled his body onto Nagisa's attacker and grabbed his mask. He tried to pull of the attackers helmet, but he grabbed his wrists and turned Rei over onto his back. The man then pummeled Rei's face repeatedly, knocking his glasses off his head.

"Nagisa! Run!" He shouted in-between his beatings.

Instead of following his friends request, Nagisa tackled the attacker to the ground. The other man kicked the blond off his companion and hir him with the butt of his rifle. Blood flowed down from a gash right above his left eye.

Blood poured out from Rei's nose and he received deep cuts on his lips. Rei laid on the cold floor and wondered why the others haven't intervened yet. Then, three more armored people exit the Hummer with their riffles in hand. There might have been even more men outside.

Under the truck, Rin and Haru's faces were red with rage and their eyes bent on killing. But their actions would amount to almost nothing. The strangers had more weaponry and man power than they could ever imagine. An encounter with them would mean certain death.

Rei watched in agony as Nagisa struggled loose from the assailants grip. They grabbed his arms and legs. He put up a good struggle, however, they had the upper hand. They then carried him out of the store. Rei quickly rolled onto his stomach and crawled out of the store. A wave of pain rolled through his body, but it didn't stop him. He witnessed one of the assailants bring down the butt of his rifle into Nagisa's stomach. They threw his limp body into the trunk.

Tears filled his eyes. Rei had never felt so useless in his life. He observed the in his friends faces. The hopelessness and the defeat in their expressions. After the armored men slammed the hood, they went back inside their Hummer and sped off into the town.


	6. Keep Track Of Time!

**_Authors Note:_**_ Sorry for the long wait! I've been traveling out of country a lot this summer and was left without wifi a lot of the time. But I'm back now! :D_

_It had been 5 days since Nagisa was kidnapped. 5 days of sleepless nights, misleading, dead ends, worries, and helplessness._

_Their days without their energetic friend felt gloomy and void. Nagisa's big smile and liveliness helped them get through the hectic days of trying to stay alive. But the day's without him only left them in a more depressed state. They wanted to see his big, bright eyes glow with vivaciousness, his quirky attitude in life, they wanted to hear his laughter, they wanted him back. They searched miles upon miles for any trace of him, but would be left with nothing in the end. Even so, they never lost hope._

_They were able to catch a break when they found the black Hummer parked near a junkyard for cars. They were about ready to storm inside, but before they could barge in and take back their beloved friend, they had to come up with a plan._

Rei stood on top of the purple van, binoculars in hand as he scoped the area. The guys used the autumn trees on a distant hill as a cover for them to spy on the assailants. A 20ft tall, give or take, heavily cemented red brick wall surrounded the premises. Piles upon piles of rusty cars stacked on top of one another towered the men in S.W.A.T uniforms. Two of them stood on top of the red brick wall near a rusty bronze gate in makeshift towers.

"How many are there?" Makoto asked from the drivers seat.

"Not many. There's about 30 or so in total."

"30? I expected more."

"It's a very small watch system. Two men in a mediocre watch tower, a handful are scouting the floor and the rest are playing cards." Rei shifted the binoculars more. Carefully looking for the place where Nagisa might reside in. Near the center of the scrap yard was a dirty, white portable office. He's observed some of the men come in and out of the facility throughout the day. He believed that the portable office was where Nagisa was being held hostage in. What did they want with him? Could they be torturing him? What for? Maybe even worse.

"But Rei, why won't you let us go in with you?" Makoto asked.

"Because they've only seen my face. They will most likely not expect more people to confront them," he explained, "We're at an advantage here if the three of you execute the mission perfectly."

"But, I hate the idea of you going in alone. Can't one of us go with you?"

"No, Makoto."

"But it's to risk-"

"This is the only solid plan we have!" He exclaimed. He sighed and continued, "Even so," his hands clenched on the binoculars tightly, "this has to work. It's all we have to take back Nagisa."

"Rei," Makoto muttered. He could see the anxiety from watching his friend bite his bottom lip and his teeth clench.

"We're back!" The sharp tooth redhead announced as he walked beside Haru toward the van.

"Thank goodness," Makoto sighed. "What took you guys so long?"

The quiet man held a red stained plastic bag, dark red droplets dripped from the bottom. "The animals are beginning to hibernate this year, so it was rather difficult to find this many."

Rei jumped down from the van and walked toward them. "It doesn't matter as long as you were able to retrieve some."

"So, what's the next step to Mission: Take Back Blondie?" Rin asked.

"The next step if for you, Haruka and Makoto to retrieve as many of those creatures as you can by the time that I gave you. The town we passed by earlier had quite a few."

"So we herd the dead, like the sheep?"

"If you say it like that, then yes."

"Got it," the redhead said. "Let's get a move on then, we don't have all the time in the world."

Rin and Haru made their way inside the van, whereas Rei stayed outside. The men in the van thought that Rei was abnormally calm in this situation. They expected some nervousness before his venture to a strange and dangerous territory, but his breathing was fine and he seemed at ease.

"Here," Haru said as he passed a small handgun to Rei. "Be careful."

Rei took the handgun and shoved it in his pocket. He looked down at his watch. It read 19:27 in digital numbers. "Remember, time is of the essence."

The three men nodded and drove off toward the road. When they were out of sight, Rei made his way down the hill.

He waited a couple of minutes, with his back pressed behind a thick tree near the wall, until the sun was just below the horizon. Once twilight arrived, he bent his knees and jumped up toward a branch. When his hands met the flaky branch, he placed a foot on the tree, wrapped his legs around the branch and began to climb, like a sloth. It was very difficult for him to cross as the branch would scrape his forearms and thighs, but he managed. After barely managing to slide his way above the wall, he released his leg grip from the tree. Rei hung on to the branch a while longer to observe the floor for any watchmen and released his grip.

Once his feet touched the ground, he bent his knees and rolled onto the dirt. He a short groan escaped from his mouth when his ankle shot a wave of pain through his body. He took a deep breath and crawled behind one of the piles of crushed cars. He looked down at his watch and realized he spent too much time trying to get in rather than finding Nagisa. He peeked his head from the side of the pile and saw the makeshift office a couple meters away. He took a few steps closer and looked to his sides. It seemed almost deserted with the exception of a few faint laughs in the distance. Even so, he took extreme caution and crept toward the facility, using the piles of cars as his cover.

It took a few minutes of stealthy maneuvering for Rei to reach the back of the rectangular facility. He tried to peek inside, but the windows were tinted, so it was nearly impossible to see inside. He even tried to open the window using a pocket knife he carried, but it was futile. He believed that it was dark enough for him to use the night as camouflage to rescue Nagisa from the front, even thought it was a high risk move. But he had no other option. He pressed his back against the wall and crept toward the front of the facility. By this time, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so it was easy to see that nobody was around the area. He tiptoed slowly up the wooden ramp. Sweat rolled down his cheeks and his heart pounded in his chest the closer he got to the iron door. Rei's body tightened as his hands met the cold knob of the door. He gulped, thinking of what could be behind the door. Will he find Nagisa? Or meet his maker? Or will he-

"Freeze!"

Rei jumped slightly from the unexpected shout. His face went pale when he saw his body outlined by a bright light. He was so close! His heart pounded even faster in his chest, yet he wasn't surprised that he was caught. He felt that it was way to easy for him to retrieve Nagisa and leave within a couple minutes. He knew that the men would have found him eventually.

"Drop your weapon!" He demanded. Rei did as he was told and dropped the gun, making sure to not make any false movement to provoke them.

"Turn around! And move away from the building!" He slowly turned around for what seemed like a minute. Never in his life did he think he would have been treated as a criminal, especially now. His eyes squinted as he starred at the blinding light that locked on him.

One of the men came up to him and frisked his shirt. But he stopped when he examined Rei's calm face. "What a sec..." He took a few steps closer to Rei and examined him more. "I remember this guy! He's the one who attacked me at the store!" He grabbed onto the collar of Rei's shirt and threw him onto the dirt floor away from the cubicle. He pointed his handgun at Rei and proclaimed, "I'll kill this bastard right no-"

"Enough," a disembodied voice commanded.

Rei propped his body up with his hand and turned his head. The first thing he noticed was a man with a pale, bald head that could blind someone if light hit it at a certain angle. He also seemed shorter than him from his height compared to the iron door and was on the pudgy side. He wore the same body armor as the other men, except he wore no helmet. His exposed face revealed a large scar across his left cheek and bottom lip. A lit cigarette rested in between his lips. He blew out smoke and asked in a deep, groggy, possible smoked for his entire life voice, "What are you doin', trespassing in my territory?"

Rei took a deep breath. He wanted to sound as calm as possible, in fear that the men would take advantage of him if he seemed tense. "I'm here because you have something that's very important to me."

The man grinned, "If its cash your looking for, I have none of it. Its worth shit right now."

"I'm not looking for money. I'm looking for a friend your men took from me."

"A friend?" He paused for a moment to think and snapped his fingers. "Oh. I think I know who you're looking for." He turned around and went back inside the office. He came back out a few moments later with what seemed to be a body he carried near his hip, as if it were a sack of potatoes. There was no doubt in Rei as to who the person was.

"Nagisa!" Rei exclaimed. There was dark purple discoloration on Nagisa's arms and legs and his clothes were caked in dirt. His head hung low and his hair was mangles and filthy.

"Wow. Even his name is feminine." The man then threw Nagisa's body onto the dirt floor as though he were a piece of trash. Nagisa landed a few feet from Rei.

Rei felt his face grow hot and his teeth clenched tightly. He was filled with fury at the mans action toward his beloved friend. He tried to lunge forward toward Nagisa, but he was cut off by one of the armored men. A shotgun aimed for his forehead.

He waved his gloved right hand up and down as he said, "Slow down four eyes. I can't just let you two go." He blew out more smoke from his cigarette and added, "But what I can do is let you two die together."

The armored man pushed Rei to the ground near Nagisa. Rei covered the unconscious blond with his body and watched as the men pointed their guns at him. Sweat formed on his forehead as he thought of an idea on how to get out of the situation.

"Wait!" He shouted. Once he grabbed everyone's attention, he took a deep breath, to soothe his shaken voice, and stated, "H-Hear me out. If you let us go, we'll leave this incident behind and never bother you guys again. Plus, wouldn't it be better to save all the bullets you can on the real enemy rather than the two of us? Don't you think that letting the two of us go would make things easier? Can you-"

"Hold it," he interrupted.

Rei shut his lips tightly when he realized he might have asked to many questions, rather than statements. He feared that the man would ignore his plead and simply dispose of them.

"I have a better idea. Why don't the two of you join the group?"

Rei eyes widened and the men in armor whispered to one another. The slightly trembled man asked, "W-Why would you want us to join you?"

"Well, you managed to get inside here without being detected up until this point. That's a handy skill that shouldn't be wasted. And our group is always open to new arrivals. Aren't we, boys?"

A hesitant applause slowly formed from the men.

"So, What do you say?," he pulled out his cigarette, "Do we have a deal?"

Rei tilted his head as he smiled with his lips. "Thank you for your generous offer. But I will decline."

The bald man narrowed his eyes and stated, "Both of you are zombie dinner if you go out there alone."

"We've managed to survive this long and we will survive even longer on our own."

The man dropped his cigarette onto the floor. Once he stomped on the cigarette, he sneered, "You guys might not be a waste of bullets, but you are a waste of time."

Rei chuckled, "Well, that's the upside of this day in age. We have all the time in the world."

The bald man rushed toward Rei at almost lightning speed and collided his foot onto Rei's right cheek. He brought his foot down on the side of Rei's face and knelled down beside him. He commented, "If there's one thing I don't like, it's a smartass." He pulled the beaten man up from his shirts collar, pulled out a revolver from his pocket and placed the nozzle between his eyebrows. "Any last words."

Rei glared his eyes down at the man's bulky, silver wrist watch. 20 hours on the dot. A small smile formed from his lips. "Only if it's yours."

Everyone froze when they heard the rising sound of hungry groans and low moans. The heart pounding noises came from behind the bronze gate. Mixed in that was the screeching noise of tires. The gate flew off from its railings as a dark purple van smashed into it. A few of the men shot a few rounds at the van, but they held their fire when they was what was entering the premise. Pouring inside the junkyard was a horde of decomposing bodies. They shuffled and dragged their feet across the dirt floor, some even crawled toward them. Their arms outstretched toward the men as they smelled the sweat from their shaken bodies. Their deep, ravenous moans filled their ears and possibly others from yards away.

With the assailant starring wide eyed at the entrance, Rei was able spit in his attacker's eye. Boss released his grip on the teen, which Rei used to wiggle out of of his grasp. He hastily crawled on he dirt floor and reached the unconscious blond.

The hot head began to shoot frantically in the air and around him, managing to hit one of his men. The other members began to open fire on the horde. Their desperate shots showed little damage toward the undead. Their strong grasps held on tightly to them men as they fought back, who's punches provided little help. Zombies ripped their armor from their bodies and gnawed on their bare flesh. Their cries for help would go unnoticed as the others fended for themselves.

Rin and Haru hid under the window with revolvers in their hands as Makoto steered the van behind a nearby pile of crushed cars to hide from the crossfire. They went unnoticed by the undead as they were occupied by the blood from the men in armor.

Rei tried to shake his friend awake, but Nagisa wouldn't open his eyes. "Nagisa! Nagisa!" He called out. He placed his ear next to the blonds pale, chapped lips. His breathing sounded dry and faint, but Rei was relieved to hear that he was alive. He placed his forearm under Nagisa's knees and his other arm across his back. He managed to rush to the edge of the cubicle before he heard

"You son of a bitch! I'll make you pay!" Rei heard from behind in a strained voice. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his calf. He collapsed and rolled onto the floor away from the unconscious blond as he held his leg to his chest. He felt warm, thick liquid ooze out from his calf. He tried to hold in his scream, but the immense pain was to much for him to hold back. His head began to hurt and He didn't even hear a round being shot in the mix of the cross fire. He looked at Nagisa, who seemed safe from the rounds. Rei tried to crawl toward his friend, but Boss grabbed him by the shoulder and flipped him onto his back. "You're dead now," the bald man sneered in Rei's face as he tightly wrapped his fingers around his neck.

If Rei wasn't able to escape, his stranglers ashy, potent breath would do him in before strangulation. Rei pulled out a small knife from his right pocket and managed to stab it into the mans forearm. But the bald man slapped the knife away from his hand, which landed near the blond's body. Rei dug his nails into the mans wrist, even as far as drawing a bit of blood, but he was set on killing him. Rei tried to gasp for air, but none would flow into his throat. He felt as though his bones were being crushed by his brute power and his face grow cold. His hands began to grow weak and his vision blurred. Was this the end? Will he die here without saving Nagisa? Will his friends die as well?

Through his weak vision, he saw a small figure with dirty, blond hair raise its arms above its head and brought them down onto the mans shoulder. His eyes widened and he screamed in pain. His grip on Rei was loose enough for him to push the injured man off of him. Rei turned to his right side and began to gasp for the cold air. Once air began to flow properly into Rei again, he painfully turned to his right side and focused closely on his savior's figure. The blond hair was unmistakable as to figuring out the identity of Rei's savior.

Nagisa walked toward the man as he tried to crawl away, but the blond kicked him onto his back. He sat on his stomach as he pleaded for his life to be spared. The blond was not intent on sparing his life, and Boss knew it as he starred into his deadpan eyes. Nagisa raised his right arm high above his head and brought the knife down onto the side of his throat. Again and again, Nagisa plummeted the knife into his throat repeatedly until he stopped gurgling. Deep red blood splattered and squirted onto Nagisa's arms and clothes.

Rei starred at Nagisa with his jaw dropped and shaken eyes plastered on him, completely frozen in place. The innocent boy that would never even hurt a fly, took someone else's life. The sight of his friend covered in blood made him feel as thought he would burst into tears, but he only felt hopelessness and dejection.

In a matter of a few seconds, Nagisa snapped back and threw the knife away after seeing what he had done. With no time to spare after seeing the zombies approach them, Nagisa quickly wrapped his arm around his shoulder and placed his hand on his waist. He turned back and saw the zombies gorge on the man's body, ripping and gnawing on his shredded flesh. Nagisa spotted the purple van peeking behind the pile of cars and waved his right hand at them to grab their attention.

Makoto saw the two and immediately drove toward them. Once they got to them, Rin slid the side door open and helped the two injured men inside the van. Makoto drove all the way to the other side of the junkyard and stopped a few feet away from the wall. Haru opened the dashboard and pulled their last grenade. He rolled down the window, pulled the with his teeth and threw it at the wall. Red bricks and debris scattered everywhere as the wall combusted into mere shambles. Makoto sped the truck into the thin cloud of dust and drove out of the junkyard. He quickly drove around the facility and turned the van to drive straight up the road, slowing down once they were a few meters from the zombie infested junkyard.

Rei held the trembling to his chest and rested his cheek on top of his head. He could feel warm liquid seep into his shirt and small sobbing from the blond. Who knows what kind of things they did to him. Knowing that didn't matter now. The guys were just glad to have Nagisa back in the group.

The mission was a success.


	7. It's So Topsy Turvy!

_**Authors Note: **__College applications are killing me... But the Walking Dead season 5 came out and I'm super stoked about it!_

_The sky was deep crimson color with clouds that seemed as though swift, white brush marks were painted on the red canvas. His surroundings looked as though it were drained of their color to feed the vibrant sky. Haru stood in the middle of a crumbled street that seemed to go on for an eternity. From the horizon, he spotted a mass line of grey figures coming toward him. It took him a while for him to realize the moving bodies weren't alive. He turned back and ran to the opposite direction. Their moans faded. He recognized his group with their backs turned toward him up ahead. He took another step and sunk into the street. He was surrounded by the color of the gluttonous sky. His throat constricted and his face felt hot. He shut his eyes tightly. _

_When Haruka slowly opened his eyes, he stood on the edge or a cliff in front of a pitch black abyss. He saw a red mist cover the bottom. Mangled hands reached up in desperation either for a helping hand or a meal. He tried to take a step back, but a weight on his hand stopped him from moving back. Makoto stood by his side. The smile would have been welcoming for the distraught man if it werent for the rope tied around his neck. He looked up, a second rope going up to infinity above him. He looked back at Makoto, who moved his head down. His voice stuck in his throat as he tried to coax him away from the cliff. The brunette let Haruka's hand slip from him and took the plunge. Haru watched as the rope kept on going. It stiffened._

Haruka woke up gasping for air and in a cold sweat. His brain felt as though it throbbed against his skull. He proper himself up with his arms and looked to his right, where he found his sleeping friend. It had taken him a moment to realize that he had fallen asleep while on watch duty. Luckily, his friends had not been disturbed. Rin and Nagisa clustered near Rei, who had been unable to walk properly for a while and had to have his leg in a brace after the incident with the men in uniform. They all slept in the back of the truck, exposed to the chilly air.

Makoto lazily rubbed his eyes and asked in a low tone, "You had another nightmare, didn't yo?" Haruka nodded. "Was it the same one?"

He muttered, "No... This one was different." He couldn't even bare to look at his friend. How could he? He just woke up from a dream about his friends dying right in front of him and he couldn't do anything about it. "I don't want to talk about it." He slowly moved his hand above Makotos head, but just hovered it. He wanted to have some sort of contact to see if Makoto was Makoto, but he just hovered it. "It's all right," he yawned, "just go back to sleep." Haru could sense that Makoto was smiling, even though he was still adjusting his eyes to the dark.

"No. I'll keep watch. It's my shift anyway. You should get some rest," said Makoto.

Haruka complied. He moved his body to the far right in front of the divider and faced it. He laid on his left side and placed his hands below the side of his head. H_ow long were the nightmares going to last? Can't I have a decent dream for once? _Haruka thought. He didn't dream the rest of the night.

_"This is getting out of hand you guys!" _Makoto remarked. "The three of you are severely sick and need medicine!"

It was early in the morning when Makoto had finally had enough. Rei, Rin and Haruka had caught some sort of sickness during their travel. The first sign popped up a few days ago when they stared off with mild coughing. Now it was full blown, throat ripping coughing, high fevers, runny noses and throbbing headaches. They had denied themselves of medicine, since it'll only waste more time, but it came at a higher price.

"Rest assured, M-Makoto. We are perfectly fin-." Rei wobbled from the passenger seat and off to the side of the road, where he vomited. Nagisa sped to his side and patted his back.

Rin, who laid in the back seat of the van, moaned as he massaged his temples. "Can you guys stop yelling?" He groaned. "My head is killing me and your shouts aren't helping." He then coughed violently into his fist. A few muttered curse words were heard afterward.

Haru looked as though he were about to pass out at any moment. His face looked paler than usual and droplets of sweat formed on his face. He licked his chapped lips and said in a parched, dry voice, "Then take Nagisa with you. Going by yourself is too dangerous."

Makoto sighed. He understood that his friends were only looking out for him, but he can't risk them getting sicker. Especially in their current conditions. "He can't do that, Haru. Nagisa needs to stay here to watch over you guys."

"Nagisa! Please go with-"

"I'm sorry, Haru. Mako's right. I need to stay here and protect you guys," he said, rubbing his ill friends back.

Haruka took in a raspy breath and tried to open the door. "T-Then I'll go with you." It was a pathetic attempt. He couldn't muster enough strength to even open the door.

Makoto gave him one of his signature smiles. "I'll be fine, Haru. I'll come back with the medicine in one piece."

Haruka hated it when Makoto went off without him. Even before the apocalypse. He knew how easily terrified the brunette could be if he were put in dangerous situations. Even more so if he went by himself. Is violent trembling and There were two enemies they had to fear now. But he knew that Makoto wasn't going to back down. "Be back before sun down... And take your bat with you."

_A few miles up the road_, Makoto walked into a small town. A few houses resided on each end of the street, about 20 in total. It looked like the typical small town depicted in books with a few livable houses and a tiny grocery store. Dense, dead forest surrounded the beaten buildings with a leaf covered floor-bed. Rusting cars lined the curbs and yellowed newspapers littered the floor. The windows were shattered from having stone like objects thrown at them. It seemed like the town has seen its fair share of travelers scavenging for anything they can find useful. He walked up the eerily quiet street and made it to the store near a charred barbershop and collapsed salon. The exterior looked more like a log cabin than a food market. The roof was a bit caved in, but looked safe enough to enter. He wished he hadn't opened the door for the smell of rotting produce slapped him. He gaged, but pulled himself together before he was able to vomit. The store looked like it could fit 1o more people. The checkered floor tiles were cracked and dusty. The light beam above him flickered on and off rapidly. He hastily scanned the racks for any edible foods and pills. Makoto clenched his bat in hand in an attempt to release his nerves, but trepidation took over.

With his darting eyes, he spotted a rectangular object wrapped in blue plastic in front of him. He picked it up, unwrapped the object, and snapped of the corner of it with his front teeth. The memories of him walking down the street with a bag of groceries in one hand and a treat in the other as he walked back home near the beachside. His blue eyed friend walking beside him quietly. His shoulders slowly lowered as he sighed with relief, releasing himself of every tension he had. The sweet was beyond stale, but it was still effective in calming him. It was his favorite treat after all. Suddenly, his shoulders tensed up when he heard the bells above the door chime.

Makoto quickly dropped to his knees in a squat, dropping the chocolate with him. He peered behind the rack and inspected the figure. His heart pounded against his chest. A tight biker jacket gave a hit that the stranger was either a woman, or a very curvy man with a swollen chest. It was hard to get to a conclusion to the persons full identity since their face was covered by a gas mask. The heavy thuds of boots stomped around the other racks. The person carried a few green recyclable bag and started to drop the canned goods inside. The memory of Nagisa being abducted flooded his thoughts. Makoto wanted to make a quick escape before being spotted. He tried to crawl to the far left where the beverages were. There, he could make his way to the emergency exit. One leg at a time, he inched his way to the door. His legs close to his chest and torso bent. He imagined himself being as light as a feather in hopes that it'll help him maneuver swiftly and silently. He was in reach of the exit. He made a dash for the door, but plummeted face first into the dingy floor. He tripped on a cluster of empty beer cans.

"Who's there?" The person called out. There was no doubt that the stranger was a woman now. She had a small handgun pointed to his right leg.

Makoto gulped. He felt the color in his face slowly drip off of him along with sweat. His throat felt strangled and his body tight. He had never felt so constricted by the sight of a person before.

The person removed their mask. The person was revealed to be a woman with the smooth complexion of the stale chocolate he was eating before, and same color. She looked a few years older that he was, but still young and pretty. Her hair was pitch black, full of volume, and spongey, like cotton candy that was sold at the annual festival that was held in his home town. A light green bandana with white embodiment was tied above her head, just below her ears, and covered her hairline. Was this lady a foreigner? He didn't expect to be greeted by a big smile.

"Hello. I'm Elena. Nice to meet you," she greeted as she extended her arm out to the confused man. She had a slight accent in her tone. American?

Makoto starred at her gloved hand. He would normally accept the handshake, but was hesitant to do so. He starred up into her light green eyes. Something about her seemed particularly kind, relaxing even. Maybe it was her pearly white smile? Or her large, shimmering, guileless eyes? Something about her reminder him about his energetic blond friend. Whatever it was, he still had the concept that she could be a threat in the back of his mind.

She sighed as she pulled her arm back to her side. "I get it," she said. "I'm not making a good first impression, am I? Maybe a short speech about my life will built a sense of trust." She cleared her throat, straightened her posture and continued in a louder voice, "My name is Elena Stone. I was born in America and moved here when I was 8 when my dad was stationed in Okinawa. Me, my dad and brother vacationed here when the plague hit.." She held an _umm_ as she was in thought. She seemed like she we looking for something in her mind. "I like to pass time by drawing, reading or practicing my archery. And I like to make weird faces in the mirror," she stretched her own cheeks and stuck out her tongue, "like thith."

The end of Makotos lips curled up. He tried to hide his mouth with the back of his hand, but the damage was done. She got the smile she wanted. She held out her hand toward him again. This time, Makoto accepted it. Right when she pulled him up, her expression turned serious. Her right hand reached into her pocket, where she pulled out a small dagger.

It was too late to make any reaction. All Makoto could do was shut his eyes and hope for a quick demise. Suddenly, a smell that can only be compared to rotten milk burned his nose. He felt warm droplets his his right shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he was face to face with the narrow eyed stranger. She pulled her arm back and took a few steps back. A loud _thump _was heard behind him. He didn't bother to look back.

Elena pulled out a black napkin from her pocket, slid it up the knife, removing the dark liquid on it, and put them both in her pocket. "Don't you hate it when that happens?" She laughed, nervously. She cleared her throat and smiled, "What's your name?"

Maybe he and his friends had it all wrong. Maybe there were still some decent people left in this world.

"Sorry if I was hostile towards you at first. We haven't had a good run with the living so far."

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "It's cool. You had every right to be hostile after going through all that crap." She turned her head over to her right and looked back at the brunette. "Thanks for the help. It's not everyday that I meet a guy willing to help me with housework," she said.

They had been walking up a dirt path for a couple minutes since their encounter. The naked trees exposed a never ending length of forest on each of their sides. A crunchy bed of leaves covered the forest floor. Makoto followed a few steps behind her. He also carried a few bags of supplies with him. His bat nestled under his armpit. "It's no problem at all. I like to do what I can to help. Plus you saved my life back there-" He turned his head to his side sharply when he heard a twig snap. A brown squirrel scurried across the floor and crawled up a thin tree.

Elena giggled. "There's no need to worry about any of them. The Dead never come around here. They're mostly cluttered in the cities."

Made sense. Large cities means more people. Which meant either more dead or more dead meat. He kept that in mind in ace he and the group had to make a detour in the city in the near future.

Words spewed from her mouth insestably. She went on about boring it was to live in her town. She dreamed of going back to America, where all her friends were. She hadn't talked to them since the plague hit. She also said how hard it was to do manual labor herself, but she bragged about how muscular she had gotten from doing work. She said it gave her the independence she never had. Before he even knew it, they reached another small town. A very small town. About ten log cabins, at max. To his surprise, everything was still in tact. From the dusty windows still in one piece, to the stable walls. Their roves were covered in leaves and tries, but they weren't caved in, like the other houses he's seen. It was a peaceful town, completely shut off from the apocalyptic mayhem. They walked up the wooden steps of the first house off the dirt road. She had a large wooden swing benching the right side of the porch near a bed of wilted flowers. She placed her hand on the knob and turned her torso to the tall man.

"Welcome to is my humble abode," she said as she opened her door. An earthy smell filled his nostrils. The pale light that emitted from the cloudy sky shone from the window. Other tiny streams of light poured out from coin sized holes from the side and roof of the cabin. Letting in the chilly air. Different types of flowers, both wilted and live, clustered in wooden crates and painted clay pots on the window stills, tables and shelves. The wood marbled walls were covered by paintings of flowers and surreal people wearing flowers, most of them looked unfinished. Most of the space had been cleared of furniture, with the except acceptance of a few bean bag chairs rested under a large window. Books and journals stacked on top of one another littered the area near the bean bags. An tall glass of water, half full, was beside a book on how to read kanji. Elena flung her supplies onto a purple bean bag near the door. She said, "I need help with fixing the roof, building new crates for my flowers, repairing my bed frame and fixing the hole on the floor. Think you can do that?"

Did he look like a repairman to her? "Do I have any other option?"

Elena led him to her kitchen. The first thing he saw was a large hole about the size of her hair. It looked as though the hole went on for an eternity of dar when Makoto asked to go to the basement to fix the floor, she immediately denied him access, saying there was "hella crap" in there. He shrugged it off and started work. He suspected that the hole might have been caused by termites, even though not a single one was spotted. He grabbed the thinnest oak plank and hammered the planks onto the floor. He coated it with wax and stepped on it to see if it was strong enough to support him. The dark wood was out of place with the pale floor, but at least the hole was covered. He walked out of the kitchen and called to the woman. She was surprised when the man had finished so quickly. All the past housework he did at home really paid off. She led him to her bedroom down the narrow hall. She opened a white door, with paintings of bees on it, and walked inside. The room was lit by the light outside with a light purple cover from the curtains. In the middle of the room was what looked like a cluster of broken wood. She took the liberty of moving the mattress herself to make Makoto's job easier. The sooner he finished the bed, the sooner he would be able to take the medicine to his friends.

It had taken him a moment to realize that he was in a room that belonged to the opposite gender. This was the first time that he had ever been in a girls room. He later spotted a pile of worn shorts and lingerie in the far left corner. His face grew even more flustered. He untied his red plaid shirt from his hips, walked toward the pile and covered the pastel colored bras and underwear. He was able to focus better on his work after that.

It took about half an hour to complete the first job. He moved the bed frame to check if it was stable, but the legs had snapped off. Makoto grunted in frustration and kicked the frame with his foot. He main frame also broke off. He heard giggling in the other room. He took a deep breath and worked on the frame, again. Getting upset about the situation would do nothing but delay him. He made sure he glued the frame before he nailed it to the support. When he was finished with his project, he re-entered the living room, where she was found cross legend in a purple bean bag chair writing in a leather bound journal. She caught a glimpse of him and closed the book, the pen bookmarked her page. She pushed herself up, grabbed the bag of supplies she had thrown earlier and motioned him to the door.

The clouds had cleared off, revealing a bright blue sky with small smudges of clouds. Their faces lit up when their skin made contact with the warm rays of the sun. It had been so long since the sun hid behind the clouds. Maybe the sun had been hiding in fear of the monsters down below. Makoto and Elena flashed a smile to each other.

The wall he was about to work on was hit by the sunlight. He took a moment to fully take in the nature air before getting to work, again. He had only nailed a few planks of wood on the side of the house and he was already sweating tremendously. It was unusually hot for the fall season, but today might have been one of those summer day exceptions. He peered inside and saw that Elena was scribbling in her journal. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see what she had been writing about. The writing was a mix of both Kanji and English, but more English. The little Kanji he was able to make out was "muscular", "handsome", and "smile like the sun". Unknowingly to the curious man, his shadow was casted over the girl. Elena looked over her shoulder and gave him a playful cold stare, to which he quickly shot his head down and went back to work.

Elena called the man down from the front door. Makoto put the hammer down on the roof and climbed down the stairs. He used the bottom end of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his pink face as he walked toward the front. He climbed up the stairs and sat on the wooden bench a few inches away from the woman. She had changed from her dark clothing to baggy, faded overalls over an orange tank top. She handed him a tall glass of water. He thanked her as he grabbed it and chugged the entire thing before she even sat down. She immediately gave him another refill. Unnoticed with the previous cup, the water felt a bit more on the warm side.

"I've been meaning to ask you," he blurted out as he fiddled with the rim of the glass, his eyes watching his thumbs. She paid her attention to him. "Why did you take me up here? To this place?"

After her sip, she replied, "Initially, I went to go shopping for a buff young man that would help me fix my house and you happened to-"

"Be serious please," he said as he looked straight into her eyes.

Her face grew concerned. She couldn't put on the facade anymore. Not to this man. "I don't know to be honest. I guess I was just tired of talking on paper." She went on about how she had been cooped up in her house since the plague hit. How her neighbors and friends started with dying or turning. Everyone started killing each other, both living and dead. Her family fell victim to the horror. Makoto could see her face becoming soft in a depressed way. The event burned into her mind. The heavy copper smell of blood, shots of light from the gun fire. She managed to was ape by hiding in the forest for a couple days as her father tried to cover them as they ran for safety. She said she had lost her brother in the mix up and hasn't seen him since. The months passed and the massacre had been covered up by the wildlife and vegetation. Lonely, sleepless nights with no one to hold her or talk to took a toll on her. She was on the verge of taking her own life. But when she discovered her fathers collection of journals, it inspired her to write down her own experiences. She said that each word carried a weight that transferred from her onto paper. She hadn't spoken in weeks, up until she met Makoto earlier that day. She smiled and continued, "You seemed like a nice guy, Makoto. You had a gentle, trusting aura. Plus you looked more like a lost kitten than a rabid dog when I found you."

"Thanks?" He said, sounding as though it were a weary question. He took another sip of his drink. They starred at the trees in front of them for a while.

"Im kidding. But you looked like the type that's been holding back a lot." She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "It feels good to finally be heard. But I've been yapping all day, so now you tell me something about you."

This was the first time that he had been asked about his feelings since the beginning of the apocalypse. Without the need to limit himself. "We'll... I haven't had a good run in with the living either." She gave him a look that said keep going. So he told her everything. He figured that if she had the intent of harming him, she would have done so already. If she was true to her word, she would listen. So he told her about the school being overrun by zombies, their search for Rin's sister, Nagisa's sudden kidnapping and their attack in the junkyard.

"I wouldn't be surprised. People would do anything to stay alive, even if it means turning on each other." She took a sip of her drink. "But I guess that's been happening even before the plague hit."

Makoto nodded in agreement. "I think what got to them was fear. Once fear takes over someone's body, all their sense of self control and logic flushes from them."

"That sounds like the type of stuff my dad would say." She paused for a moment. "It's a good thing he's not here to see this shit happening. He's probably playing cards with God or something."

Makoto nodded. "I hope my family is in a better place too," he trailed off in his tone. He could feel himself curling onto his thighs. He felt his lips trembling and his vision grew glassy. He tried hard to suppress his memory of that night. The nails digging into his arm, the blood splattering onto the walls, the rounds fired from a gun. His fists clenched on his thighs.

Elena heard his soft sniffles. She patted his back and said, "Hey now. No need to cry. Things are gonna be O.K." She placed her hand on top of his and added, "There's nothing that breaks my heart more than to see a grown man cry."

Makoto laughed in between his sniffle. He wiped a tear from the edge of his eyes and slapped his cheeks. "Your right. I think I'll drown myself in work to feel better." He chugged the last of his drink and stood up.

He had spent a great deal of time driving nails into wood and coating water resistant paint over them. During that time, Elena came up to the roof and helped him get the job done faster. They chatted aimlessly. Going from the topic of their usual daily activities they participated in before the plague to a heated debate on wether or not if chocolate was better than cake. Chocolate cake was the outcome. Makoto caught a glimpse of Elena's backyard garden. 3 large, long wooden boxes filled stocked with tomato, cucumber, strawberry and nearly every other grocery fruit and veggie was planted. A few wilted flowers in clay pots placed on their corners. Soil had spilled out on some of the sides like a waterfall. From the looks of it, it seemed like another short project. Makoto later recalled a joke Nagisa had told him a while back about a fast tomato and a slow tomato and told the joke to Elena. She had laughed so hard that she nearly rolled off the roof. It would have ended ugly if it weren't for Makoto's quick instinct and arm strength. It was the first time that Makoto was able to have a delightful, true conversation with someone else. Even if it was dangerous for a moment. He felt that he was able to express himself in a way that he hasn't been able to in such a long time. Without having to restrain himself.

The sun was just about two fingers above the horizon. Plenty of time for Makoto to reach his friends in time. Two plastic bags, one on each hand, were filled with veggies, grown in Elena's backyard, and some pills and other mess and first aid equipment. The tall brunette towered in front of the woman, who stood in the doorframe. They had chatted for the remaining minutes together. They shared their plans for the countless days ahead and hoped that they would cross paths again. Before departing, Makoto popped one last question for the woman.

"Would you come with me?"

He wasn't surprised by her answer. He thought that by taking her along with them, she could be able to forget about her horrible past and have that feeling of being surrounded by others that care for her. And she had longed for that type of affection, but she said that she was to tied down to her home to just leave. She needed time before moving on. This made some sense to the man, but he still understood her feelings. With his bags in hand, extended his hand for a handshake. Elena pulled his arm and embraced him from the neck. Makoto's face was cherry red. He didn't know wether to hug her back or not. His arms just slumped to his side. He slowly went back to normal when the earthy smell on her calmed him. It seemed like minutes passed. Elena's arms loosened as she pulled away from him. He walked backwards down the porch steps, nearly tripping on the way down. Elena giggled. They waved one more goodbye and departed ways.

As Makoto walked down the path, he wondered if he would be able to see his new friend anytime soon. He enjoyed her company tremendously during the past couple hours, even though he worked for a majority of the time. She had such a quirky, calm air that was extremely pleasing. It was hard to believe that people like her still exist in this world. He began to speed walk down the road when his sick friends came to mind. He wondered if Haruka and the others were still feeling severely ill. Suddenly, an unusual feeling came up. He couldn't help but feel that he had forgotten something. He stopped in his tracks.

He forgot his flannel.

Makoto ran back to the house and knocked on the door. No answer. He turned the knob and entered on his own. He tried to call her name. Still no answer. He walked through the living room and down the hall, in front of the bedroom door. He tried to turn the knob, but the door was locked. Makoto glanced at the other end of the hall and noticed a door wide open. Suddenly, a feeling in his gut had told him to enter. Critical, yet unpleasant. He didn't know what it was that made him walk up the hall and enter the past the door. He crept down the steps, each making a low creak with new steps.

Once his feet met with the floor, the smell hit him. He recognized this sour odor. His heartbeat raced when he heard the uneven wheezing filled his right ear. He turned his head slowly and discovered who was making that sound. His short, almost shaven head matted and unkept. Its completion resembled that of the grey sky that once Hun overhead, only a few shades darker. Teeth as amber as the sun and eyes coated with a foggy film. The bottom jaw was missing. It's lacerated arms extended out toward him, desperately trying to reach him. Makoto was taken aback by the sight. His back hit the concrete was and his bat fell to the ground. His body trembled violently and his throat felt tight. Without much thought, he picked up the bat and brought it above his head. Before he was able to bring down the bat, a sudden force kept his arms in place above his head. It was Elena.

She looked up, her eyes on the verge of tears. She bit her bottom lip and whimpered, as though she was trying to hold herself together. She pleaded that no harm should be inflicted on the undead boy. He looked no older than 15. His ripped green shirt and jeans were matted with dried blood. His bare feet cut and his toe nails left overgrown, chipped and yellow. A dog collard wrapped around his next as he rattled the thick chains with his movement.

"Look. There's no need to hurt him. He just wants to say hello," she quaked. She even went out of her way to say that he wanted to shake his hand. And it did. But it was more of a desperate outreach to eat a hand than to shake one.

He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Everything Makoto had been told about zombie and human interaction was broken right in front of him. She was actually holding one in her own home. It all made sense now. Her immediate decline in him going to the basement, Her missing brother.

This was beyond taboo. This was pure insanity. This woman, whom he had thought was probably the only sane person in the country, had done a complete 180. Makoto dropped the bat behind him. Elena released her grip on his forearm. Time seemed to go on slow for the both of them. Why did he feel so betrayed? He dashed outside and vomited near a tree. He heard footsteps behind him and the rustling of plastic bags.

"I have your things. I'll walk with you until we reach the store."

Makoto didn't reply. He didn't even look at her. He couldn't _bare_ to look at her. He wiped the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand and walked down the dirt path, again. Elena followed behind him, with the bags in hand.

_The entire walk to the store was silent. _All but the sound of leaves crunching beneath their weight filled the air. A light purple sky cast above them. The air had gotten colder, but it didn't bother the two at all. They had reached the grocery store a few minutes later. The same store that just a few hours ago had been their fateful meeting place. Where he was scarred to death and she had pointed a gun to him. The roles were switched this time. Makoto turned around and faced a gloomy Elena in front of the entrance door. The monster that had attacked him earlier laid cold in its own blood on the floor a few feet from her. A look on his face demanded an explanation.

She couldn't muster the emotional power to explain much. All she could say was that she found the boy in the woods already turned and took him back home with her. She said that she didn't have the guts to get rid of her own brother, so she did what she thought was right and kept him hid. She kept him in the dark as an undead pet. One unable to feed off the living and left starving. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Makoto's mind feels like its high above the clouds. The dead and the living can never co exist with each other. It would have to be one or the other. Having seen this concept defied sent his thoughts on a roller coaster ride. His thoughts going up and down. Side to side. Everything for him was Topsy-Turvy. It brought him back to the events that happened a months ago, at his house. The iron smell. The horrid feast. His own blood on his hands.

Elena placed the bags in front of the man. She even retried the bat and placed it near the bags. She bent her toes to add height and cupped Makoto's cold face. She swept Makotos bangs back and kissed his bare forehead. A soft and final goodbye was uttered from Elena's quaked lips. Makoto watched as she sped around the aisle, she paused for a moment so she opened the door. She caught her own tongue. Elena opened the door wide and ran back. Back up the dirt path into the cover of the woods where her secret shall remain one.

"What took so long? We were worried sick about you," Nagisa exclaimed as he ran up to the cheerless.

"Sorry I made you worry," he said. "I just got caught up in some stuff."

"Stuff? Like what?"

Makoto stopped himself from saying anything more about the subject. "Forget about it. I'll tell you later. What about the others? How are they feeling?"

"They all fell asleep about an hour ago. Their temperatures got lower, but they're still pretty bad." They walked toward the truck. The inside of the stuck was stuffy from their high fevers. Makoto opened the passenger doors to air out the truck. The guys were about as out as an overused lightbulb that had exploded from its own energy usage.

Makoto showed the blond the plastic bag of medicine. "I have their medicine. We should wake them now and give it to them." With that, Makoto and Nagisa gently woke the sleeping teens. Rin and Rei had fallen back asleep immediately after drinking the pills, but Haruka stayed up for a moment to lecture Makoto for staying out too long. Once he got his point across, he went back to sleep too. Makoto knew that Haruka was only looking out for his well being. He had a right to lecture him. He had broken the most important rule. No contact with the living outside of the group.

Makoto had taken the night shift and stood watch over the sleeping teens. He starred at the empty street up ahead, wondering if the girl he had met at the grocery store would be able to withstand being alone again. Would she still crave the human interaction she wants? Will she move on? Would she continue to walk alone? Would he understand?

Little did he know that another dreadfully silent walk awaited him.


	8. Keep Everything Clean!

_**Authors Note: **__Merry belated Christmas! (¤) _

The men from Iwatobi had driven to a town a few miles up the road once the sick men were well enough to move. Nagisa had insisted that they had stayed in the town they had passed, but Makoto had refused. His hostility to keep driving kept the blond from making any further suggestions. Makoto drove the truck a few hours up ahead to another town. Nagisa had kept an eye on both his sick companions and for the undead. The medications were helping with alleviating the pain and got rid of their vomiting ailment completely. Though their fevers were still pretty high. Rei was going through the most pain out of the three. He needed to take extra pain killers and needed a daily lather of on his calf in fear that his wound would soon catch an infection. Rei went through agonizing pain, but he usually slept through it. Nagisa had tended to him more carefully.

The town looked almost similar to the previous one Makoto had stayed in. Small, antique shops, a street of tiny homes and a large, wooden inn. They stayed in a room on the first floor of the run down inn near a grocery store as the sick men recuperated. They didn't even bother to properly check the entire building, figuring that sleep was more important than routine work. The wallpaper had peeled from the walls, a thin layer of dust covered the beige colored floor, and dried, red stains spattered the floors and ceiling. It took them a few turns and budging before finding an unlocked room. The interior seemed more than normal. Surprisingly enough, the red sheet sere still tidy and the room was spotless. Not a speck of dust glued itself on the television screen or hanging photos of camellias and poppy flowers. The apocalypse was gentle on this room. Makoto and Nagisa helped situate the men on the two beds by pushing them together and making a whole, large bed. They had laid down and fallen asleep after taking the medication. Makoto pulled two chairs from a small table and carried them to the window, where he and Nagisa seated on the entire evening.

Makoto had come back to the room with a handful of candy bars and sugar packets after raiding the small store in the lobby. Nagisa had never gone longer than a day without eating something sweet, so he was beyond happy when Makoto had thrown a bar of KitKat's at him. He gobbled the entire bar within seconds. Makoto gave him a second bar after telling him to savor the sweet. Who knows? They might not find anything sweet for a while after this. Nagisa listened to his words and slowly chewed the chocolate. Makoto placed a few more treats on the table for the three men in bed. Makoto He was thrilled to find an untouched jar of ground coffee in the cabinet. As he made some coffee, Nagisa starred out at the window. His large eyes plastered on two woodland creatures.

A large, mother deer placed its two front legs on a slim tree and stretched its neck to reach a small plank of bark. She peeled off the bark with her teeth and fed it to the small fawn, who gobbled it up in an instant. She repeated the process, feeding herself as well, but tending to her fawn more. Nagisa flinched when Makoto handed him a green mug of coffee. Makoto apologized shortly after.

"Ya' know, Mako-chan," he said. "I've never seen a deer in real life before."

"Really? Didn't your family take you camping a lot though."

Nagisa nodded. "I thought camping was staying in a hotel while my parents went to conferences. I didn't know about the real camping until freshman year of high school." The first time he had ever went camping was when he and the other guys went training at the Swimmers Retreat.

Makoto gave Nagisa a solemn look. "Haru and I've seen a few when we go camping." Makoto recalled a time where he and Haruka went camping with his family when they were younger. They spotted a group of deer drinking from a stream. Makoto's dad gave them both some bread to feed to them. Makoto was terrified at first, but Haruka guided him to them and before they knew it they were swarmed by deer. Makoto remembered the tickling sensation of the deer licking his hands and cheeks. He also remembered Haruka's annoyed face when a deer nibbled on his head.

"Lucky~," Nagisa dragged. "I wonder how they feel? I bet they're super soft and nice."

Seeing Nagisa's excitement, Makoto got up, walked and motioned Nagisa to the door. "Wanna find out?" He said.

At first, Nagisa was hesitant. His sight was caught by the sleeping men. He felt that he needed to stay and protect them. Makoto had eventually coaxed the boy to join him outside. This might be his only chance to be able to pet a deer in his life. He put his candy bar in his pocket and walked toward Makoto. Nagisa had closed the door.

The sky brought down a grey lighting to the town. The air was cool and crisp. A soft wind was carried throughout the area, picking up fallen leaves. Makoto and Nagisa turned the corner of the inn. They crept toward the feeding deer, their toes carefully placed onto the ground in fear of stepping on a twig. Though the crunching of the leaves didn't help. They were a couple feet from the feeding deer. They must have been used to human interaction if they hadn't scurried way yet. Nagisa pulled out his candy bar and waved it in toward them, grabbing the fawns attention. It seemed that the tiny deer was being lured toward the treat by its nose as it drags it's own body. It's moist, black nose sifting side to side with every sniff. Nagisa was grown nervous as the deer came closer. Quickly, the deer bit the bar and nibbled on the chocolate. He squealed at the thought of attracting other deer in the forest. A cute group of fawns would seem overwhelmingly adorable for the blond. The mother didn't seem to mind their interactions. Nagisa giggled as the fawn licked the chocolate off his fingers. His free hand gently pet the top of the fawns head. It's fur was soft, like a feather. Makoto stood by and watched. Recalling his own memories of deer.

Suddenly, the deer had turned slightly to the right, their ears perked up and in high alert. The mother and fawn had scurried back deep into the forest. A low growl came from out of the blue. Makoto and Nagisa turned around and spotted the cause of the growl. A staggering body limping heavily to its sides came towards them. Makoto had pulled out a small knife from his pocket and went in for the kill, but Nagisa intervened. He pulled out his own knife, rushed past the brunette and plunged his knife right in between his decayed eyes. Once the undead man had collapsed, Nagisa dug his knife repeatedly into his head a few more times. He stood back up, the body between his feet, and starred down at the corpse. He threw the knife on the ground before running back to the inn. Makoto eyes were locked on the zombie, startled.

Makoto came in shortly after and found the bathroom door wide open. He closed the door behind him and entered the bathroom, finding Nagisa back toward him and his knees to his chest inside the bathtub. Makoto took a seat on the lid of the toilet and waited.

"I can see why Haru-chan loves being in the bathtub," Nagisa spoke in a low voice. "The small space is comforting. The tub gives off a relaxing, clean feeling. Like no matter how filthy you are, you could always scrub off the muck and watch it all go down the drain." Nagisa turned his body and faced the green eyed brunette. His chin rested on his knees. Nagisa's large, bright eyes seemed as though he was about to cry. He gulped, took a shaken breath and explained, "I'm not as strong as I should be. I'm just the annoying one of the group. I can't be as strong as you guys and I can't be serious when I need to. I let myself be taken by those guys and took everyone down with me. And Rei-chan got hurt trying to protect me."

"Nagisa it's not your fault-"

"He was shot in the leg because of me!" He exclaimed. He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes and sniffled. "I was the one that got us into this mess in the first place. If I hadn't let my guard down, we would have met Gou and the others by now." He brought his face down to his knees. "They probably hate me."

Makoto sat on the rim of the tub and placed his hand on Nagisa's back. "I could understand how that would make you feel upset, but you shouldn't feel like a nuisance. You're very important to us." Nagisa had lifted his head from his knees, but he still starred at the tiled wall. Makoto went on about Nagisa's skills when it came to aiming a gun and keeping the air lively and fun. It hurt the brunette to see such a bubbly person turn into mouthing but rubble. "I know you miss the good ole' days, but things are way different now. All we can do now is hope that this will mess will fade away soon. And until that happens," Makoto took a deep breath and sighed, "we have to get back up and keep moving."

Nagisa quickly turned his torso and wrapped his arms around Makoto's waist. He cried as he revealed what had happened in the junkyard. They toyed with him, beat him in the open until he couldn't stand, locked him in confinement without a single drop of water for days and kept him under lock and key. Makoto could tell that Nagisa was holding back, but he didn't say anything. Nagisa said that if they had taken longer to find them, they would have killed him eventually and left him as zombie food. Makoto didn't know what to say. How could he muster a word after hearing something so traumatizing as that? He can say it all he wants, but Makoto will never understand what Nagisa had went through. All he could do is imagine and hope that Nagisa can carry the weight. He cried about how he missed his older sisters, his strict parents, the difficult tests, and the detentions he got from sneaking food in class. He missed having days where he did nothing but to watch t.v. He missed everything. It was as if a hurricane had come down and swept everything precious to him. He tried to rebuild the rumble to its pristine state, but it was too disheveled to repair.

Nagisa squeezed his face closer to Makoto. "Please don't tell the others. Especially Rei-chan," the blond pleaded. "I don't want them to worry."

Makoto rested his forehead on the top of Nagisa's hair. "Don't worry, Nagisa," he said softly. "Your secrets safe with me." Makoto was unaware that he couldn't make that promise. When someone meant that the walls had ears, it wasn't meant figuratively.

Nagisa cried his name as he sobbed into his chest again. Nagisa had worn himself out from his own cries and fell asleep onto Makoto's chest. Instead of having to carry the boy to the bed, Makoto spent the rest of the night in the tub with Nagisa in his arms. He didn't sleep a wink either. He stayed and hoped that Nagisa was right about the tub.

_About two days later_, Rei's, Rin's and Haruka's fever faded away and their coughs vanished. Oddly, it seemed like the illness had packed its case and left. But the guys were good as new! As the men packed their gear into the truck, a small herd of deer had blocked the road. Even though the men didn't have food on them, the deer had came up to them and interacted with them for a while. It was difficult for Rei to fathom how the shy animals could be so close to humans. He wasn't even aware that there were fawns nibbling on his shirt. Like years before, a few deer had surrounded the tired Haruka, who sat on the steps of the inn, and nibbled on his black hair. They group laughed at him as he doze off, not being affected by the forest animals chewing his hair. He shot up, startled when the deer slid their sandpaper tongues up his cheeks. They had all gotten startled when they heard a low grunt in the distance. Behind the line of trees hid another animal. A large, well built, buck with his chest expanded in intimidating way, stared intensely at the group with ebony eyes. It was then that the deer trotted deep into the woods. The buck gave them one last look before galloping behind the forest.

The men finished packing and left the ghost town. Nagisa saw the departure as a way to leave behind the memories. He saw no reason to keep them in his headas it would only get in the way. All he really needed were the four guys in the truck to keep him happy. The same couldn't be said for Makoto. The tall brunette couldn't help but to glance back at the town. He never did experience the clean feeling in the tub.

"What the fuck guys! How do I have gray hair already!?" Rin exclaimed in anger as he rubbed a strand of pure white hair between his thumb and index finger. His other hand held a flashlight, which pointed to the grey strand of hair.

"It's 'cuz you stress yourself too much, Rin-Rin," Nagisa commented. He had also failed to mention that he was the one who pointed out Rin's grey hair.

"How can I not stress about this. Gas is running low, we haven't eaten in days, our water dried up, and were miles from any town." He looked like he was about to rip his hair from his head. Rin felt like he was the only one who knew the severity of the situation."Not only that, but freakin' lost!"

It wasn't that he was the only one that knew, it's just that the others didn't want to make such a big deal out of the problem. He was right though. No matter which way they took, they would end back at point 1. Countless hours waisted, precious oil used up, and supplies drained. Only to lead them back to the fork in the road. If they head back, they would only end up meeting head on with a hoard of zombies in the city. Not to mention, the sun was covered by a black, starless blanket.

Haruka placed his hand on Rin's mouth, interrupting his nagging session. Before Rin could say anything, they heard twigs break and leafs rustling behind the stream of bushes in front of the woods. Nagisa and Rin pointed their flashlights at the shifting leaves as the others pulled out handheld guns. Their index fingers anxiously waiting to pull the trigger.

Instead of coming face-to-face with an undead mongrel, two breathless boys ran out from the bushes. They could have be no older than 15. The taller one had held the others right hand tightly. Their pants and jackets were caked in what looked like dirt. The two were surprised to see the Iwatobi men with their weapons pointed to them, whereas the men were dumbfounded to see two boys.

"Hurry! Get inside the van!" The taller boy commanded.

"What? Why-," Rei asked before he was interrupted.

"Hurry! Before they come!" He shouted as he shoved his body towards the truck. The smaller boy gently nudged Haruka as well.

Moments later, the hair in the back of their necks rose. Sounds of low growls and inhuman wails broke the silence. The sharp clank of teeth and raspy breaths flowed into their ears. A pungent, rotten smell filled their noses. With no time to waste, Makoto and Rei had bolted inside the passenger seats and Nagisa hopped into the truck. The boys struggled to get in, so Haruka and Rin hastily picked them up and flung them inside the truck. After the two men hopped inside, Rin slammed on the pedal and sped the truck down the road just as grey hands shot out from the bushes. Rin slowed down after speeding for a few minutes.

The men examined the frightened boys as they tried to catch their breath. With their eyes adjusted to the dark, they saw that the taller one had a bandage covering his left cheek and ear. Dark stained linen covered hands and forehead like an ancient mummified body. His hair was the color of sweet honey, exactly the same as the trembling boy he held around his arm. The smaller ones hair was groomed to the right side behind his ear whereas the taller ones was much more wilder and messy. Their eyes were the same dark, rich color as the dirt they're caked in. Their clothes were coated in a mix of dried mud and blood.

Nagisa pulled out the flashlight and pointed the beam straight on the boys. He asked in an imitated interrogator voice, "Who are you boys? Where did you come from?"

The boy with the messier hair had defended their name. He stated that they weren't boys, rather that they are men since they had turned to the "holy" age of 13 a month ago. The guys could tell just by hearing his rambunctious, strident voice that he was the one who called the shots. The smaller one had his gaze on his feet. They were brothers. Step brothers to be more preside. The older brother, Koichi, told the group that they ran into the herd when their ball rolled into them. He and Koji had been on the run since just past sunset. They thought they were goners as their legs felt that they were about to break. That was until they ran into the teens.

"So it's like you saved our life and we saved yours," he added. "Now you owe us the good ole' favor."

"That's not how it works. We don't owe you shit!" Rin belted.

"Really?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "Well, did you put the safety lock on your guns?"

The three checked their guns. Was this kid a psychic? It would have been a disaster if one of them had blown someone's brains out. The boy flashed a cocky grin. Rin looked like he was about to beat the living hell out of the kid.

"We just want you guys to drop us off at our house. It's not far from here."

"Where's your house?" Nagisa asked.

"Up this street will be another exit. Make a left and I'll tell you when to turn."

"But already drove that route. It'll lead us back to the zombies."

"That's probably because you took the main road," the younger brother murmured. He spoke at a barely audible voice. "There's a dirt road that lead to another freeway. You guys must have missed it because the leave and stuff make it part of the forest once winter comes."

Makoto tapped on the window after Koji finished his sentence. Haruka slid the window open to hear what he had to say. Nagisa told him and Rei about the boys and what their plans were. Rin seemed to be the only one who had a problem with this. He insisted that they should keep moving or else they'll waste more time to getting to the Army base, where his sister and the others were waiting. His whole opinion on the matter changed when Rei brought up that it would be a good time to add fuel to the gas guzzling truck and find food. To put the icing on the cake, he added that a couple hours of rest can help relieve stress significantly. They were unaware that the brothers were listening. Hard to not hear when they were basically shouting at each other over the engine.

"We're planning on leaving our house anyway," Koji blurted. "We heard of a safe place near a farm not that far from here."

The gang catechized the soft spoken teens statement. How could they have heard of a safe haven when they were no people to speak those words?

The boy brought up his light, almost film like green eyes at the guys. Paying particular attention to the blond. He said that their cousins went out to search for a safe place while they stayed behind. The brothers received radio contact from them the other day and set foot to meet them. Sadly, they had lost their supplies and nearly gotten eaten.

Haruka asked, "Where are you headed?"

"Fort Samuel."

Thats the same place the guys headed to. Is the same base where Gou and the others are residing in. They were in disbelief. Months ago, the base had been a US fort when the "Hungry Flu" was at its peak. It's been rumored that the base had been overrun almost overnight and since then it had been isolated from humans. Up until another group took over and called it home. And to think that Rin wanted to ditch them just a few moments ago. His whole demeanor changed 180. His frown turned to a flimsy smile from the joy of being able to see his sister.

Koichi said, "Thats where we were headed to in the first place. Until this bonehead," he gritted as he glared at his brother, "decided to make a pit-stop to play ball."

Koji averted his eyes down to his twiddling fingers. He muttered in a soft, almost whisper, "I wanted to play for a while. We didn't have a game of soccer for a while and I thought-."

"You dumb-butt!" Koichi shouted as he drove his fist down the top of his brothers head. "You could have gotten us killed!"

"Do you guys know where it is?!"

"Of course. But you're gonna have to take us if you-"

"It's a deal!" Rin blurted. "We'll take you to Fort Samuel!"


	9. Fun Times!

_**Authors Note: **__A new year for new ideas. Happy Almost New Years! [^.^]_

Just like what Koichi said, there was a hidden road covered with rotten leaves. It wasn't long before they drove into a desolate neighborhood. They had even questioned if the boys had the right directions. To their surprise, the boys knew where they were going. It seemed like the homes had gotten taller and taller the deeper they drove in the neighborhood. The streets were completely cleared of any type of litter! they even seemed to be spotless. The barren trees were perfectly spaced from another and the street was perfectly smooth. A sense of tranquility and extreme wealth illustrated the neighborhood. Though the grasses were a bit dry, it seemed that the place was untouched by the apocalypse. They had derived up a few blocks before reaching the front of silver gates beside a large hill. Koichi hopped out of the truck and slid the gate open. Rei had driven the car through the cement parking space.

As the others got out, Koichi went back to the trunk, held out his hand and placed his other behind his back. In a "gentleman's" voice, he asked Rin if he needed a helping hand in getting out of the truck. Rin never took his offer. He had helped himself in hopping from the truck. It wasn't until Koichi saw a closer look of Rin's strong jawline and lack of curves that he realized that the redhead wasn't of the opposite gender. He had gotten confused with Rin's name and appearance. Though Rin's hair had gotten significantly longer, a bit below the shoulders, he should have figured out his gender from his voice. Koichi had honestly believed that Rin was a woman, that was up until he cupped Rin's firm breasts that his jaw dropped. A bright red cheek was the outcome of his action. A frustrated and tomato red Rin threatened the men giggling behind him.

And they thought Rin was loaded. If Rin was considered rich enough to swim in an Olympic pool of money, then Koji and Koichi swam the ocean. The house stood a whopping three stories tall. If 5 full grown men stood side by side with their arms stretched, it still wouldn't be half the length of the mansion. The brothers father and uncle had built the house together and constructed it to be larger than life and luxurious for both the families to occupy. The cement exterior of the house was as smooth as undisturbed water. Not a crevasse or crack seen. Soft, amber lights lit the wooden patio. Koichi turned the gold knob and opened the gargantuan oak door.

The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the walls. Thankfully, the house was much warmer than the weather outside. Empty, dusty ramen cups and granola bar wrappers littered the floor. To their right were stairs that led to the second floor of the establishment. An identical set of stairs were built across. Small desks with dusty, withered plants in purple vases were placed under the large, dark windows, which seemed to have been coated with black paint. In front of them was a hall that led to the kitchen. Koichi led the tired men to a marbled, steel kitchen that was as pristine and modern as a cooking show host.

Koji explained that his father was a designer for sports fashion, like jackets and accessories, and their mother was a private chef. They had occasionally flewn to different places for business. Inconveniently, they had gone to a trip to China when the epidemic hit. Their aunt and uncle, along with their cousins, left the estate to find sanctuary in hopes that they'll find a better place to live in. They've been on their own since. Koji asked the men if they were tired.

"I'm more hungry than tired," Nagisa commented.

"Same," the others said in unison.

Koji led the men near a large oven. Koji opened a storage door just outside the frame of the kitchen. Towering over the men were racks of ramen of every kind of flavor. Spicy pork, shrimp, chicken, beef, mushroom, more than their taste buds can handle. It was like staring at the gates of heaven in their eyes. The perk of having a mom whose a chef is having an endless supply of microwaveable food and frozen treats.

The cooking process couldn't keep up with their appetites. One batch after another was consumed in a rapid pace. The portable propane stove could only handle so much. 5 cups grew to 17, then to 21. 38 cups of ramen were cooked. An entire shelf consumed in one night. It would have taken at least a week for the brothers to have consumed little more than half. They didn't talk much at this time. They were too busy stuffing their mouths. Who knew when would be the next time they would eat?

After the meal, the brothers led the men up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The first thing they noticed was the gargantuan bed in the middle of the room. The entire bedroom enemies fit for royalty. The bed frame was embroider in gold like painting, the bed sheet was white with small gold paintings of embodiment and the floor was as white as a spring cloud. The drawers and walls were also gold in color. It was as if the room wanted to capture the essence of the sun.

"I call the bed!" Nagisa and Rin called out. They glared at each other before hopping onto the large bed.

"Thank you for housing us tonight." Rei thanked as lowered his head to them.

"Don't mention it," Koji said. "Thank you for bringing us pack in one piece."

"From the looks of it, you'll need more blankets and pillows," Koichi added. Referring to the two men wrestling for a spot on the bed. "We'll being some." With that, they left the room.

"They seem nice," Makoto commented as he took off his mud caked shoes.

"I agree," Rei added. "They've not only fed us, but they've also housed us as well. We've must have made a good impression on those boys."

"Or they did those things to fatten us up to eat us," Nagisa joked as he tried to wiggle his way out of Rin's head lock.

"Don't be preposterous. One human body has enough nutrients to feed 70 full grown men. Plus cannibalism is disgusting."

"What do you think, Haru? Are they trying to eat us?" Makoto asked as he turned to his friend, only to find him gone. The bathroom door was wide open. Inside, Haruka sat inside the tub in a fetal position. His shoes and clothing neatly folded beside the door. He turned the nozzle in hope that water would come out, but nothing did ever come out.

"I think nothing of it. They're just two boys waiting for a ride that'll either take them to where they want to be, or somewhere-"

"We're back with blankets," Koji belted. He threw them toward Rei, who caught the bundle and sprayed the room with air freshmen. Cotton scented.

Koichi handed Makoto clothing for him and his friends to wear. He had given them both his fathers and uncles pants and jackets. The darkest and warmest clothes he could find. On top of the pile were cleaning wipes. "Those are to clean yourselves off from all the muck and dirt."

Koichi pinched his nose shut. "Do it before the morning," he said. "You guys smell like rotten meat."

_In the middle of the night_, Nagisa had awoken. He waited on the bed as his eyes adjusted to where he can see shapes. He removed the covers and hopped off the bed, only to turn back to cover the redhead with the blanket. He carefully, but dazedly tip toed across the floor so he wouldn't wake his companions. He left the room and entered the one next door. The bathroom.

As he exited, he heard muffled shots coming from down stairs. Even without a weapon on him, he crept down the staircase and followed the sounds. The volume grew louder as he headed toward the kitchen. Nagisa walked past the counter and into a small hallway. There, he found that a red door was nearly closed. It seemed that Rei's rankings about curiosity killing the cat didn't get through the blond's skull. He opened it to find himself at the top of a steel staircase. He jumped at the sound of gun fire. He quickly shut the door behind him. Thought he shut it loud enough to create an echo. It was then that the gunfire stopped. He figured that he was caught. He slowly crept down the bottom of the stairs. The basement didn't look like a basement at all. It looked too clean, too dust free. He found Koji hanging a rifle to his younger brother and pointing at a frozen figure across from them. Koji caught sight of the blond.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" The older brunette asked.

Before Nagisa could answer, the younger brother shot a perfect bullseye at a handmade rag doll. The body was as big as an average human and the pillow was the head, where Koichi shot at. He gave his rifle to his brother.

"How did you guys learn to shoot like that?"

Koichi replied, "Our dad used to take us hunting in the summer."

"Mom hated it when we went hunting. She wanted us to 'treasure life that God put on this earth'," Koji chuckled. "Though, we never listened to her."

"Do you guys believe in God?"

"We didn't at first. But I guess we have more faith in him now more than ever," Koji said as he held his brother closer to him. He looked straight into Nagisa's eyes and asked, "Do you?"

Nagisa nodded his head side to side. "Me and my family were never religious to begin with."

"That's good. My mom was a total nutcase." He rubbed his stomach and said, "Boy am I hungry. Sure could use a snack." He motioned his brother to follow him. How could he just pass that off?

Koichi invited the blond for a midnight snack. Nagisa happily obliged and followed them to the kitchen. Koji and Nagisa sat across one another on the marble countertop as Koichi grabbed some chocolate chip granola bars near the microwave. It was then that they had finally found some time to talk. The brothers talked about their lives as if it were a summary. They grew up spoiled and had it all. They went to the best school in the area, they had excellent grades, a myriad of friends, a close-knit family, and were pretty much set for life because of their wealth. Nagisa had brought out the smaller details of their lives. They both loved soccer, had a birthmark under the right side of their chin and enjoyed bike riding in the woods. They had even gotten lost in the woods for a whole day. It seemed like hours passed. Nagisa listened to the boys as they told their tales from before the epidemic. Nagisa had even had his chance to speak about his undying love of cake and swimming. The three felt a bond flourishing. They even planned to watch the sunrise if the clouds changed to a lighter color.

Koichi said that his father believed watching a sunrise strengthens bonds between people. That starting the day before the day started meant that the bond between people would forever be eternal. They've never seen a sunrise and saw it as a perfect opportunity to do so. They even talked about what they had missed the most. For them it was their family.

"What do you miss most?" Koichi asked.

_If it were one thing..._ Nagisa pondered the question. He missed almost everything about the past. He missed going to dinner with his family. He missed eating cake with his sisters. He missed swimming with his friends in the school pool. He missed the tournaments. He missed everyone's smiles after a race. He missed the warmth and love that came from a genuine smile. He felt his chest hurt. He felt his heart crushing from all the weight of his missed memories. It seemed that he was about to cry, but he wiped his tears away from his eyes. "I miss the fun in life," he said in a cracked voice.

The brothers gave him a minute to piece himself together. Koichi broke the silence and said, "Nagisa. Fun never left."

Nagisa was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

The younger brother glanced at his brother. Koji asked in a serious tone, "Can you drive?"

Nagisa nodded. "Rei taught me how to drive not that long ago and he says I'm an O.K driver. Why?"

Koji snickered. "How about we have a go at bring fun back?"

Nagisa was confused. How were they going to bring fun back. Fun died. Fun doesn't exist now.

"There's a carnival not far from this house," he said as he got up from his chair. He walked toward a draw and pulled out a picture frame from it. He handed the frame to Nagisa. The picture showed the two of them among adults and 2 other children. They posed with a giant brown bear with a white t shirt and red cap. Their smiles were big and bright. Those were the smiles that Nagisa had missed. The smiles he yearned to see on his friends.

"What are you proposing?"

"Why don't we go out for a ride," Koji replied as he wrapped his arm across Nagisa's shoulders. "Let's go to a small joint called _CoCo's Fun Land_."

That sounds delightful. It even had the word "fun" in the name. "B-But I couldn't possibly-"

"We're only gonna be gone for a couple of hours."

"But-"

Koichi rested his hand on top of Nagisa's. "C'mon, Nagisa. Don't you miss the fun?" He said with dark, guileless eyes.

How could he say no to those eyes? Nagisa missed having fun to a point that his chest felt that an elephant had stepped on it. He figured that if they had gone for only a short while, he would have been satisfied with it. And it was only for a while. He'll be back before the others wake up. "It's only for the night. Right?"

The twins nodded in unison.

Was it worth it?

_Rei had awaken_ to the sound of an engine roaring outside. He quickly removed the blanket from his body and darted toward the window. Through his blurry vision, he could barely make out the details of what was happening outside. He picked up his glasses from the nightstand and put them on. He gasped when he saw their truck drive out of the driveway and onto the street. He called the others awake, only to find the blond boy was missing. They called his name throughout the house, but no response.

Did Nagisa get kidnapped again? What do they want with him? Why did they leave?

Where did they go?


	10. A Trip To The Devil's Amusement Park!

"Gentlemen, the park is... OURS!" Koji howled with all his might. His younger brother and Nagisa soon joined in the boisterous noises of coasters sliding down drops and carnival music playing in the distance.

The night had been overwhelmed by the florescent lights of signs and multicolored flashes from game booths. The symphony of stereotypical amusement park music traveled through the bright lights from the Merry-Go-Round, through the tiny drops spewed up from the fountain, and through dusty carnival toys. The carnival surrounded a lake about a couple hundred feet in diameter. The rancid odor of the filthy lake in the middle of the park could be smelled all the way from the gate, but the boys paid no attention to the smell. They hardly realized the smell was there. Their attentions were brought to another place. The boys were brought to a familiar sensation. Their eyes widened and their mouths were open wide in awe. Nagisa's jaw had begun to hurt from smiling for so long. His face had grown foreign to such an exaggerated gesture. He had begun to feel like himself again. Before the plague. If only his friends were with him. He wanted to see their bright smiles again.

"Let's go to the roller coaster."

"Let's ride the teacups!"

"Let's hop on the Ferris wheel!"

Before riding anything, their stomachs growled loudly in unison. Koichi picked the lock for the storage room and managed to get them in. Inside were boxes of well beyond expired and staler than stale sweets. Koichi handed Nagisa a bag of _watame_. The blue spongy cloud was encased in a bag with goldfish designs. If Nagisa we to go out and rip a piece of bark from a tree and eat it, it wouldn't be nearly as bland and rough as the treat. Though he was able to savor the candy. Enjoying the little things in life was something he had often took for granted before the plague. The boys left with their arms full of various snacks.

After having gorged on their food, they decided to ride the carousel. The three knew they were too old to have ridden the contraption, but with no one to criticize them, what have they got to loose. The brothers ran up the spiral staircase to the second level of the carousel and sat on horses next to each other. Nagisa made it to the top just as the ride began to operate. He quickly hopped onto the closest horse behind the two, a bright blue race horse with purple hair. Nagisa observed the detailed paintings framed in the interior as the two were in their on world. Pictures of acrobatics and circus animals preforming stunts were barely shown through the chipped interior. A myriad of the bulbs of light were either broken or refused to work.

When he looked up, Nagisa saw his reflection in the mirror for the first time in months. His clothes were torn, his once clean golden hair had grown dirty and matted, and his eyes were puffier than before. Probably from the countless nights he had without sleep over the last couple months. He laughed at how dirty and beat-up he looked after the incident. His countenance reminded him of when he was a young boy and he had played at a local park right after rain hit the town. He was just as dirty before as he was now. His recalled his parents scolding him for getting his cloths coated in mud, but he never regretted it. He had fun and that was all that mattered. But then, he stared at his lips, at how they curled to a smile. It was like the person a few seconds before had changed completely. They weren't even the same person in his mind. He treasured that moment as if he would never see himself again.

Nagisa dropped them from his mind. Usually, his friends always lingered in his conscience. Nagisa figured the others would have been too worried about the undead coming at them to be able to ride roller coasters. Rei especially would have been the party crasher. The group were constantly on him with his noise level and "reckless" excitement. They just didn't understand the concept of temporary happiness. Even so, the smiles on the brothers faces were enough to make him feel glee. It seemed almost too perfect to be true. Fun was still alive.

After the ride, they figured to ride the tea cups since it was the closest to them. Nagisa and Kojo hopped over the short gate, whereas Koichi had needed assistance from the two. Nagisa and Koichi ran to the cup in the center of the structure. Pink and purple flowers stemmed from the bottom of the white cup. Koji was able to hot-wire the controller and start the attraction. The elder brother hopped into the cup and placed his hand on the small table, copied by the other two. They pulled their arms to the right and before they knew it they had spun. They had spun themselves so much that the teacup could break off at any moment. Their hair flew from one place to another and their laughs filled the atmosphere.

However, Koichi pleaded to his brother to stop spinning the teacup. His arm hugged his stomach and his left hand covered his bloated mouth. Koji and Nagisa had did the best they could to stop the ride. Koichi's hair had disheveled with the velocity and his face had shown as pallid. He vomited outside of the tea cup. Koji immediately hopped out and ran back to the entrance as Nagisa helped the sick boy out of the cup. He vomited again.

"Sorry about that you guys, but I think I'm done for today. We should head back to the car-"

"You're such a baby Koichi!"

Koji clenched his fists. He was like a shaken bottle of soda, waiting to pop and explode at any minute.

"Now-Now Koji-chan. Let's calm down and-"

"We just got here! How come he always gets his way?" Nagisa had tried to calm him down, but there was no use. He flooded his emotions onto his brother. How he truly felt about him. "You've always been the first priority to Mom and Dad. Always! You get what you want when you want it while I'm always left in the back of their mind. Even when the infection came they protected you more than me. Where were they when I needed them? Where were you? Can't I be happy for once?"

Before they knew it, a tearful Koji stormed off around the entrance. Nagisa watched as Koichi stood still with tears dripping from his chin. Nagisa's chest felt like it was hit with the same force as the roller coaster. He thought that the carnival would take him back to the simpler times full of bright smiles and gave him temporary bliss. Having seen the pain and anguish in the older brother's face made him realize that doing so could have triggered subdued memories.

_What in the world just happened?_ Nagisa thought. Maybe it had to do with him being constantly around people who were older than him. He couldn't completely help but not know how to react to the situation. Usually, he would have been on Koji's end.

Koichi choked on his words as he said, "A-All I ever w-wanted was to see my brother smile again... But nothing's good enough for him." He wiped his tears with his arm. When he moved his arm from his face, his expression changed from sadness, to anger. "Nothing I ever do is good enough. He doesn't get that our parents died for us. They died so that we could have a future. He's such an idiot! I hate him!"

Nagisa watched as the boy bit down on his lips and clenched his fists. The boy's face was as erubescent as the state_ watame_. Actions speak louder than words. Nagisa wrapped his arms around the boy and gave a tight embrace. "Let it out," he whispered. And that's what Koichi did. He cried to his hearts content. He cried out for his brother. his parents, everything dear to him. "Koichi didn't mean what he said back there," Nagisa said in a voice as smooth and sweet as honey. He felt Koichi's shoulders relax. "When people are scared, sometimes they say things that they don't mean. You're all he has left. And if he lost you, then his future is lost. You mean the world to him, and he means the world to you. You two shouldn't loose each other. You need each other to survive and live."

Koichi looked up at Nagisa as if he were some sort of divine creature that had blessed him. He gave the blond another tight hug before letting go.

"We should go find your brother. It's not safe for him to be all alone." Koichi nodded with a smile on his face and dashed around the corner. Nagisa followed immediately.

It wasn't until he made it around the corner that he met face to face with a discolored creature. Nagisa was cut off when the towering silhouette came from the bushes. The bottom of its jaw was missing along with a few of its teeth on the top. Then came the smell of rotten meat. He reached into his pocket to pull out his knife, but there was nothing there to grab. Then he remembered he had left his weapons on the nightstand. Vulnerable, he was taken aback and darted away from the creature. Then more appeared. Two more. He ran toward the maze-like line of tall stalks of wood for the roller coaster. He threw the metal dividers at them, but little damage was induced. He sprinted up the steps and was stopped hy a metal chain with a _**Sorry We're Closed**_ sign. He grabbed the chain and yanked it from the pole with all his might. He readied himself as the undead crawled up the steps. He managed to whip one of the creatures rotten necks, which decapitated it. With the other two, he pushed them back with the chain and threw them down the stairs. He even pushed down the wooden locker and watched as the hunk of wood squished the two. He let out a breath of relief when suddenly he heard a groan behind him. Nagisa guessed by the uniform that he had been an employee at the carnival. He tried to push the monster down the stairs too, but was overwhelmed by it's strength. He dropped the chain during the quarrel and tripped onto his back. It seemed as though his days were numbered to mere seconds.

Ember embraced the light emerald color in its irises. Hot, malodorous breath vented from its battered mouth, whatever was left of it. They locked eyes and stared at one another for a moment. A dead silence and tense air filled the area. Nagisa thought he had stared at the eyes of death. Literally. He had grown paralyzed with fear as cold sweat rolled down his skin. The creature was about to go in for the bite, but an echoed crunch cut through the air. The creature slumped forward and fell onto the teen. Another towering silhouette stood behind it. It removed the creature from the teen and kneeled beside him, which gave the blond a better look at his savior.

It was Makoto.

"Thank God your safe," he said as he pulled him for a hug. He gave a quick scan of his body for visible wounds. None. A bloody knife was in hand.

"Ma... Makoto? How did up you... find me?"

"No time to explain. We have to leave now. The others are outside." Makoto pulled the blond up onto his feet. He handed him a small knife as they made their way down the stairs. Nagisa was still stunned to see that the others had found him. How could they have known? He should have been eaten? The rest of the group stood outside the entrance with their guns in hand. Their eyes locked onto Nagisa with eyes that could pierce through the steel of their guns. The atmosphere grew thick. They weren't the least bit happy.

"Where are the boys?" Rin asked.

Nagisa could barely look at them in the face. He was consumed with shame and guilt. "They ran off... They're still in there. We have to find them before it's too late."

"I don't know if you know this, Nagisa. But we drove past a horde on their way to this place. The fucking music is leading them here! We have to hurry up and leave!"

"They're just children. We can't abandon them," Rei added.

Rin clicked his teeth. "Guess it cant be helped then."

They hastily ran back to the teacups and scouted for the boys. Nagisa led the group With every minute, a new handful of zombies appeared from the distance. They searched in individual food stands, game stalls, bathrooms, and even in the bushes near the entrances for the rides. Nagisa had come across a bloody kitchen knife on the They searched as far as they could for the brothers but have become overwhelmed by the growing number of undead. The teens were cornered with their backs on the fence that surrounded a dead lake. They feared that they weren't able to save the boys. They could barely save themselves.

"Quick! Into the lake!" Rin yelled as he shot bullets at the zombies.

"We can't! The the gun powder will get wet!"

"They'll be fine!"

"The guns will ruin in water, Rin!" Haruka barked back.

The two had no time to argue. Haruka shot through a straight section of zombies in front of him and trampled over their dead bodies. Everyone else followed. Miraculously, they made it into a house with its doors wide open. The slammed the doors closed and blocked it with a ticket booth. Sounds of thunder and low tremors of a piano played from the toppled speakers. The room was dimly lit, but bright enough to recognize one's face from a far distance. A bony hand fell onto Makoto's shoulder, which startled him to hide behind the blue eyed teen. Rin shot the apparition once, which revealed to be nothing more than a cheap ghost prop. To think that Makoto would have grown adapted to situations similar and more realistic than a plastic toy. He apologized to the group.

"What a waste of bullets," Rin mumbled.

"S-Sorry everyone."

"Who knew Mako-chan would still be a scaredy-"

Mid sentence, Nagisa felt the palm of Rei's hand smack against his left cheek. An inflamed pain, like a thousand needles planted themselves in his skin, reddened his cheek. He cupped the swollen area with his hand. He saw that Makoto had wanted to say something, but he was stopped by Haruka. A heavy silence filled the room for a few moments.

"What you did was totally irresponsible, Nagisa-kun." Rei exclaimed. "Not only did you endanger yourself, but you endangered the entire group! What were you thinking? Did you think that you could have made it without being noticed? Did you not trust us enough to at lest tell us where you were going?" Rei had explained that the photo of the brother's family at the carnival was a clue to where they had gone to. "You left without telling one of us and now there are two boy's out there with those creatures because of your recklessness!"

"You don't think I know what I did?!"

"That's the thing! You don't think! You do things without thinking of the consequence at hand. You're putting everyone's lives at stake for some trivial, unrealistic nonsense. Your shenanigans are getting out of hand and becoming more and more reckless with each passing day. We live under different circumstances now, but you cant wrap that around your head!" Nagisa stuttered on his words. No one had ever seen this side of Rei before. His hands had a mind of their own as they moved through the air in harsh gestures to accompany the harsh words. Not once did he break eye contact with the stunned teen. "We live in a different world now, Nagisa-kun. You have to understand that some things can never be the same as before."

"You're wrong!" Rei tried to reply back, but the blond shot up and gripped Rei's arms. "Things can go back to how they were! You can't loose faith that easily! What's the whole point of us getting this far if we didn't believe that things will go back to normal? We could have quit long ago, but we didn't. We kept fighting and surviving and living!" Tears streamed down his face and his lips trembled. "We're living from the happiness of our past for a blissful future!" He cried out. "You can't give up now... We've come so far..." With that, his grip loosened. He rested his forehead on Rei's chest.

Silence filled the room again. But this was a different silence. This wasn't the usual heavy atmosphere, but more of a lifting one. A group realization. Almost like a wake up call.

"Both of you are neither wrong, nor right," Haruka said. Everyone's attention aimed toward him. "This world can still have the potential to change back to the way it was before the plague. However, for now, we have to live as though every breath could be out last. We don't have the luxury of wasting precious time on frugal things. We need to drop the past to survive for the future."

Rei lightly moved the sobbing teen off his chest and said, "I just want you to be more careful. If something were to happen to you, "Thank God that your safe," he smiled. Nagisa wanted to cry more, but he dried all his tears onto Rei's shirt.

Suddenly, a sound similar to bombs being hurled at the door thundered throughout the room, followed by bellowed groans. The teen's pressed their backs against the door to barricade themselves in. They felt the door was going to collapse within itself. Their bodies were pounded by a hammer like force. The door began to split and crack in different areas. As everyone else tried to hold up the door, Haruka ran toward the wall and began to fling the props from the wall. Dark, ripped cloth and skeletons were thrown to the floor as Haruka tried to clear the wall. It didn't take long for him to find a glass window. He shattered it with the butt of his gun and placed a foot on the frame.

"Haru! Where are you going?" Makoto called out.

Haruka turned his head and said, "I'm going to distract them. Try to stay put until I come back."

He jumped out the window and ran toward the entrance. He yelled out to the horde as a way to distract them from his friends in the building. A majority of which had immediately squabbled to get the man. Lucky for him, he lost the sluggish horde through the maze of game stands and food booths. Haruka had limited weaponry on him, a gun and a knife. He shot down two zombies before hiding behind a pretzel shack near the teacups.

There they were, beside a shooting range. The overturned and dangled lights shone brightly on the boy. Koichi knelt beside what looked like a rag doll. Haruka focused on the body, only to discover that it belonged to the older brother. Koji's ribs were exposed and his legs and arm were gone. Bones with strips of flesh clung onto them were scattered about his body like wayward leaves. Koichi held onto his brothers chewed hand. He had the look on his face as though everything in his world collapsed right in front of him in the blink of an eye. Eyes so full of emotion, that there was little emotion left in him. Haruka had seen that look before.

The boy was a statue. Koichi never made any movement, nor made any attempt to run from the horde limping toward him. He cursed. He cursed at the zombies. He cursed at the world. He cursed at God. And he kept cursing until his hoarse voice was replaced by him choking on his own blood. The undead piled on top of one another as they tried to salvage over the boy's body. Their lacerated, grey hands full of bloody flesh. Their amber, decayed teeth tearing away the meat from his arms and legs. Their hungry groans were replaced by growls and snarls, like a voracious animal so hungry that they devoured their prey without realizing it. Caring only about the never satisfied satisfaction. Haruka tried to avert his eyes, but his sight was glued to the frenzy. There was something hypnotic about the blood flowing from their bodies. Deep red streams flown into pools beside their bodies. He watched as the undead crawled over the blood. They were bathed in blood. Haruka had to snap out of his trance. He had frightened himself with his own thoughts.

Haruka pushed himself back up when a few zombies spotted him behind the tree. He ran back to the haunted house as soon as he could. Seeing as the zombies had left, he continued on. He opened the door only to find the whole room was flooded with zombies. He quickly slammed the door and continued to run. He ran back toward the lake. He called out his friends names at the top of his lungs as he ran. No answer. Haruka continued to call their names. Once he reached the lake, he was completely surrounded. His careless shouting gave him away. He climbed the fence and hopped off the top into the dark, murky water. His eyes and nose stung from the smell alone. In a blind haze, he swam all the way toward the middle in jusy a few seconds. All that practice finally paid off in a useful senario. He looked around as he tried to spot his friends. He heard bodies splashing against the water.

The truck swerved and screeched as the vehicle avoided game booths and zombies. In the distance, he could hear his name being called out. It was Makoto. Haruka tried to call out for them. He tried so desperately, but the zombies were on his tail. He felt their ripples as they splashed against the waters surface. Their gargles could be heard a few feet away. It was either live or die waiting. Haruka swam as fast as he could to the other side of the lake. He dropped his gun in the process. In just a few minutes, he had reached the other side without so much as a scratch. He had caught glances of the truck circling around, looking for him. They turned back once the frenzy that had moments before devoured the boys spotted the truck. He reached the shore before the undead could grab him. The last he saw of the truck was when it exited the park. Another horde followed the truck and blocked his only exit.

Haruka couldn't follow them. Doing so would be suicide and going back to the house would be like entering back into war. There was only one option left. He sprinted to the edge of the park, the metal fence. He climbed over the 10ft fence that divided the carnival from the forest and landed on his feet. He collapsed onto the dirt when a sharp, twisting pain shot his right ankle. Haruka was in severe pain, but he had no time to waste. The undead could come in at any second. He staggered up and limped for a while. With each step he grew in speed and before he knew it he ran. He ran deeper into the forest. He grew tired, but he kept running. Pain and exhaustion consumed him. But even then, he ran.


	11. A Bite of Fresh Air!

_Authors Note: Well it's about time! Lol it took sooo long for me to have been able to write again. Well now I did! :) Anyway, __I wonder what's gonna happen to Haru? But first__, let's see what the others are doing._

Heavy crates were passed from pickup trucks and onto wheelbarrows inside the fenced parking lot. From of a myriad of medicine to canned food and artillery weapons, men and women hauled the load inside the lobby of the hospital. There, other able bodied people would organize and distribute the supplies into different rooms, where they would be used later on. A load this large would normally call for celebration, usually honorable mentions and a toast. However, tonight wouldn't be the case.

The end of a life shouldn't call for celebration. He was a young man by the name of Yamato Hiyori. A dedicated family man and supply runner. His life was cut short after a sprained ankle made him easy target for the undead. There would be a candle lit vigil and ceremony led by those closest to him that night. This would be the 17th casualty since the hospital was found.

This was the heavy burden the former Samezuka swim captain. Seijurou led the entire establishment along with three other supporters. However, as of that moment, he had two supporters. With dozens of mouths to feed and more people coming in every week, he was too occupied to mourn the losses. Even more so to find missing members. Yet with all the work piled up on his cluttered desk, he managed to find time to call in Nitori for some personal concerns.

"How's Gou-kun?" He asked.

The blue eyed teen shrugged. "I don't know. No one's seen her leave her room at all." It had been days, weeks even, since they've heard of the redhead. She had locked herself in her room one day and cut off communication with the others. The reason was to obvious.

"We all know she's going through hard times. We all have. But she can't waste her life away isolated in misery in her room. Do you think you can talk to her? Tell her that a few minutes outside wouldn't kill her."

Nitori obligated.

"Thanks," he smiled. He opened one of his desk drawers and threw a golden key at the teen. "She listens to you more."

With that, Nitori left Seijurou to take note on the rations. As he exited the room and onto the bright hallway, he saw two women, one in a nurse and the other in a police uniform, wheel a coughing old man in a wheelchair down the hall. The aged man reminded him of a certain man who delivers presents on Christmas. He followed the two as they headed toward the room at the very end. He couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation. Nitori heard the nurse chatter about how the herb garden in her balcony had begun to die from the approaching winter season. He climbed the concrete steps to the third floor and walked to the third door on his left. He knocked on the door.

"Excuse me Gou-san. Am I allowed inside?" He asked. "Gou-san?"

No answer. He pressed his ear against the door and heard heavy grunts. It sounded like someone counting. 62... 63...

"Gou-san, I'm coming in." He inserted the key, turned the knob and opened the door.

A strong scent of sweat and must took him aback. Dirty, stained shirts laid scattered across the floor. Curtains were drawn and the bed was undone. He saw the petite woman doing pushups on the floor in only her black brazier and red underwear. Gou's long, red hair was kept above her hair in a bun, a hairstyle she preferred if she knew she was going to exercise. Her toned arms stretched straight as she faced the teen. Her face drenched in sweat. "I don't remember giving you permission to enter!" She barked.

The flustered boy quickly covered his face with the collar of his shirt. "S-S-Sorry G-Gou-san!" He stuttered. "The others and I were w-worried about you."

Gou pushed herself up and grabbed a pink shirt from the floor. As she put on her shirt, she said, "Worried about what? I'm doing just fine. See?" She flexed her right arm.

Nitori let go of his collar. He was impressed and dumbfound. Like the others, he thought Gou had been a deep rut of depression and had wallowed in her own melancholy. He thought he would have seen her emaciated body laying in her own bodily fluids. She seemed to be the complete opposite. "I see that you've done fine on your own. Even so, you haven't eaten much and you barely go outside. You don't talk to us anymore."

Gou wiped the sweat from her forehead with the collar of her shirt. "All for a reason, Nitori-san. I've locked myself in for so long so I could be stronger. And I think the results are effective."

"I see that Gou-san, but what you're doing isn't healthy! This isn't the right way to grieve."

"Then what did you expect me to do? Shut myself out of the world? Cut my wrists? Cry every fucking night because my brother could be dead?"

A shot of silence spilled across the room. Neither of them wanted to believe the inevitability of the Rin's demise. But with each passing day, the chance of him and the others ever returning to them alive grew slim.

Gou walked toward her bed and sat on the mattress. She lowered her head and rested her arms on her thighs. In a low voice, she said, "There's not a day that passes by when I'm not worried about my _oniisan_ and the others. I know that "

"Momo-kun and I are going out soon to pick some more berries before they dry up. It'd be nice if you could come and help us with picking?"

Gou shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling the picking mood right now."

Nitori sighed. "Please, we insist that you come. You brother wouldn't have wanted you to stay locked in here forever." Nitori waited for an answer. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard a soft mutter.

"I'll get changed."

...

It was one of those bright, sunny days in autumn where the fall sun would stay high above the horizon for hours on end. The three strayed from the road and strolled into the woods. Momotarou swung his basket as he complained about his workload and how he would rather be on the patrol tower than drying laundry. Towering trees stretched as high as the sky, orange and brown leaves blanked the earth. Nitori often caught an occasional glimpse behind him of the redhead behind them. Gou's silent and reserved behavior had worried them both. They had hoped the fresh air and open space would lighter her mood. Even if only for a while.

Momotarou led the two to a large gathering of bushes. The amber eyed teen manage to push away the leaves and exposed the floor of wild berries. Sun rays beamed down on the berries like curtains. Dirt particles shimmered in the sunshine. Hues of blue, purple and deep red covered the dirt floor. They had spread out close to one another and plucked berries from their stems. Most of them had dried out or had been eaten by the forest animals.

"Hey guys, did you hear about the rumor about another camp?" Momotarou blurted.

"What camp?" Nitori asked.

"I overheard it from a conversation the nurse had with her girlfriend. Apparently the scouters had seen people inside a warehouse. And not dead ones. But actual people!"

"Seriously?

"Yeah! And it's not far from here either."

"Woah. Do you think the Captain's would allow both camps to merge with one?"

"Dunno. But I think we're fine on our own. We're all pretty strong, right Gou-san?"

Gou had been mesmerized from plucking the berries. She had gone into her own world again and ignored the teen. "Huh?"

Momotarou explained himself again. "What are your thoughts?" He asked.

She continued to pluck berries as she thought about the idea of increasing the camp. "It seems like a relatively good idea, but there are huge risk's that come along with it." She explained that there could be a chance where they could end up having a scarcity of resources, or that betrayal among groups could occur. How there could be weary humans still coping with the new world. Mentally unstable humans in a law-less society with access to any weapon imaginable seem scarier than the undead.

"We can't stay shut in forever, Gou-san." Nitori added. "One way or another, we'll need each other to help get us through the difficult times. That's how we thrive. How we survive."

"With so many bodies comes disorder. People would be left behind. Killed. Slaughtered without notice. Irrational decisions would be made, and, in the end, we would all have to fend for our selves." Gou said no other word about the topic.

The group continued to gather fruits into their baskets in silence.

Once they've plucked the last of the berries they could find, they exited the shrub and made their way toward the road. The blue sky had change to a faint, bright orange. On their way, they heard rustling a few steps ahead of them in the bushes. Their bodies froze as fear consumed them. Nitori and Momotarou had failed to bring a weapon. Gou, on the other hand, carried a small, pocket sized gun in her pocket. She slowly pulled it out of her pocket. Her throat clenched with anticipation. When the creature finally emerged, her eyes fell onto deep darkness. Gou lowered her gun with relief. When she told the guys there was nothing to worry about, they saw what had followed them and laughed nervously. Gou grabbed a few berries and handed the basket to Nitori.

"C'mere Bambi. I won't hurt you." Her voice was as smooth as honey. She inched closer to the deer, her arm extended with the berries in hand. The deer had stuck out it's tongue and nibbled on the berries on her palm.

Finally, the teenagers had caught a glimpse of Gou's long awaited happiness. A true rarity in these times. A smile. A genuine smile.

Suddenly, a loud bang exploded from the silence as if it were a strike a thunder, only without the storm. It was in that moment where their hearts skipped a beat. The incident occured in less than a second. Gou's hand fell to her side, the berries slipped between her fingers. The center of the back of her pink shirt darkened. She and the deer had fallen to their sides.

Terror and dismay restrained the teen's from uttering a single word. A red pool began to ooze from her side and spread across the stones and dirt. Nitori had dropped the baskets and fallen onto his posterior. His knees and lips trembled at the sight. Momorarou slapped his hands against the side of his head and had begun to cry. He dropped to his knee's and starred at her motionless body.

"No-No-No-No," he repeated to himself in a low mutter.

"G... Gou... san?" Nitori quickly crawled toward her body and shook her shoulder. No response. He shook her harder. He felt a warm, think liquid wet his knee's. His tears dropped onto her colorless cheeks. Nitori's head had begun to ache as his vision fogged from his tears.

Her eyes remained shut.

"Gou-san!"


End file.
